


A light between the timelines

by Renlukun



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Comics), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Character Death Fix, Feels, Fix-It, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Loki (Marvel) Needs a Hug, M/M, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Post-Thor: Ragnarok (2017), References to Depression, Thor (Marvel) Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-10
Updated: 2020-04-01
Packaged: 2020-04-24 07:22:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 31,658
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19168498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Renlukun/pseuds/Renlukun
Summary: I did not fake my death, Thor. Loki, your Loki, did died in Thanos hands. After the battle of New York, your friend Stark and that other guy dropped the Tesseract at my feet, so I just took it and run away with it.-he opened his palm and the stone flied from the place where it stood on the floor, before closing his hand again and making it disappear in the air.-It also showed me where to find you.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! 
> 
> Well, whereas this is not my first fanfiction, it is the first one in a couple of years as well as the first in English, as I am Spanish. But I really hope you will enjoy it anyway, despite having possibly a slipt or two of the tongue. Please be gentle with me. 
> 
> I just had too many feelings for this fandom, specially after Thor Ragnarok... and I am not even starting on IW and Endgame. I needed to let it out and at least fix it in my head. So here it is. I plan to do a pretty longuish one, we will see how it goes. I will be adding more tags and possibly update my summary. 
> 
> If you like it and you have a comment, I would love to read some opinions on it :)

The horizon extended far beyond the cold coast of Norway, the big blonde figure standing in the middle of the rift, static, like a forgotten statue. He sighed and after what seemed like an eternity, he sat on a near log. Everything was just like that last time with his father and brother, only that this time he was alone. That moment seemed now so far away, and yet the memory was fresh and candent as burning iron in his chest.

 _“You were quite wrong on that one, father”_ He looked at his gloved hands, closing them. _“I am not stronger than you. Nor than anyone really. I mean, look at me, I wasn't even capable of saving my family, nor my people, nor my kingdom. What kind of joke of a person - not even a king - I am supposed to be?”_ He snorted, passing his hand over his blonde unruly hair.

He had been given the opportunity to travel in space with the gentle Rabbit and his companions, and he planned to accept that offer. There would still be a couple of days until they would come to pick him up, and of course he had left the future of their people in the hands of Valkyrie. She was more than capable of taking care of them far better than what he would be able to ever do. He never wanted the throne, but he was free now, and he should do a good use of that new freedom.

Thor sighed again and stood up. Maybe he should start looking after himself first. That's what Valkyrie had told him. _"Step by step Thor. I have been there, you know that. But you won't go anywhere drowning yourself in booze. Cut that hair, exercise, train again. You need to enjoy life a bit, find a new purpose now that we have fixed this mess. You are blessed with centuries of life ahead of you, it will be an insult for the fallen to not make a good use of them."_

Thor knew she was right. He had gloated enough in sadness, and it was time to move on. He could still protect what was left on Earth after he was back from his travels in space. He could travel around the planet and learn about Midgard and their history, their costumes. Nors, he could even spend a couple of centuries just enjoying life there. Not all was lost, but the aching in his chest grew bigger every day, haunted by dark green eyes.

“The sun is shining on me, Brother, but where are you to see it?” Thor muttered to himself, not even lifting his gaze. He had time to think over all the incidents and fights in the past years with Loki, all the words that the younger god uttered to him. He failed him. He was supposed to protect him and he failed him, like he failed his mum and his best friend. He could only wish that they will forgive him one day when they reunited in Valhalla.

Thor tried in vain to shake off the dust from his worn off jeans. He looked to the horizon once more and walked back to what his home now was. He had cleaned the house and packed all his possessions after his return from the fight with Thanos, not wanting to leave the hut like a teenagers’ den while he travelled. The blonde was about to go over the list of things to take with him when he heard frantic footsteps at the door.

“Thor, you idiot, open the door!” Valkyrie’s voice yelled from the other side. She never had any problem insulting the blonde, but as a queen now she was in more than her right to do it. ”Leave that fucking game and...”

With a big sign, he opened the door, not in the mood for a scolding from the former knight. ”What's going on?”

“You're not going to believe this shit. Come with me, quick,” she grabbed his hand and pulled, just like the first time they met.

Thor sighed and let himself be dragged, knowing first hand than there was no room for discussion with the brunette. What he didn't know is what exactly required that much of a hurry. She was the queen now, he didn't want to deal with stuff like that anymore.

Valkyrie took Thor all the way to one of the empty houses on the borders of New Asgard. The place was small and smelled like fish, although it was clear that nobody was currently living there. The only light was the weak sunlight that came through the window, giving a desolated atmosphere to the whole house. Thor entered with caution behind the woman, not knowing what to expect. And then he saw him.

“I came to you as soon as he appeared. I was fixing the windows so this hut could be used as well. This bastard almost gave me a heart attack, appearing out of nowhere... What should we do with him?”

On the kitchen table, splayed out and pale as a corpse was Loki. His hair as long as Thor had ever seen, his face emaciated. The blonde chocked out a breath, paralyzed for a moment, until his legs made him move closer. He approached the black haired man slowly, carefully reaching a hand to his chest.

“Is he...?” Thor dared to ask, the fear in his words more than obvious. He couldn't, he couldn't deal with the body of his dead brother... again.

“What? Dead? I don't think so. Not yet, at least. But he is not far from that. So I would suggest you start thinking of some magic to fix it if you want to keep him alive.”

“What do I do? I am not a healer.”

“Neither am I, Thor. I am a warrior. But...,” she doubted for a moment, reaching her hand to her chin. “Maybe you should call the Big Guy? He understands the power of that thing," she pointed out to the Tesseract, lying on the floor totally forgotten. "Maybe he will be able to help him.”

Thor reached to touch Loki’s cheek, feeling the cold skin of his brother. His eyes were closed, dark shadows accumulating under them. He moved his hand slowly, caressing his hair. He bit his lip and looked at Valkyrie.

“Bruce is on the other side of the world, there is no way I can reach him in time.” He was getting more and more nervous. He needed to help Loki, he could just not lose him again. His breathing was so slow and so forceful at the moment. “We could...”

“Brother, if you keep thinking that hard, your brain might melt down like your muscles.”

Thor almost jumped out of his skin when Loki started speaking, making him take away the hand that was on his hair. He rushed again to his side though, the moment the trickster tried to sit on the table.

“Loki, don't make efforts. You are...”

“Yes, I know. I can feel it. I am absolutely drained.” He winced when he moved, but that didn't stop him from sitting properly, looking at his brother wearily. “What in the world happened to you?”

“I... um...” He looked at Valkyrie, as he didn't really imagine having such a conversation in front of her. He was not going to say anything that she didn't know already, she was her friend at the end, but he didn’t want to expose her to his story of sadness again. “It is a long story, brother. We will have time for it after you are well. We need to take you to a healer, we have one in the village.”

"No we don't, Eir won't be back in a couple of days," grunted Valkyrie, alternating her eyes between Thor and the other god.

“I am well, I don’t need a healer," Loki interrumpted, sighning and trying to get up, noticing the sudden weakness in his legs. He leaned discreetly against the table, clearing his throat. “I just need a moment, my seidr will do the rest.”

“Well, if he is not dying, I am out of here. Enjoy your reunion or whatever this is,” said Valkyrie, waiving her hand as a goodbye whilst walking to the door. “I am sorry, but I have queen duties to attend with my council. I can't be a lazy ass all day like you guys.”

“Is that a new name for the bar?” Mumbled Thor, looking at the woman directly with a half-smile. Even though she had gotten over her alcohol issue, she still frequented the village tavern to spend some time with the people.

“Council, bar, all the same.” She said cheekily before closing the door behind her after a brief goodbye waive.  
Thor and Loki stay right there, both static, the older one still in the middle of the room whilst the younger god stayed leaning on the table. A pin dropping would have been heard in the whole room with the silence that appeared between the siblings. Thor cleared his throat, his hand going nervously to his own messy hair. He really needed a haircut.

“Why, Loki...?” He simply asked, fighting with his words. “I thought... I really thought we went over the phase of faking your own death.” He suddenly felt so sad and tired. His gaze dropped to the floor and he raised a hand to his face, trying in vain to control the humidity that started to appear in his eyes. After the initial shock, emotions started crawling into his chest, suffocating him.

The trickster sighed and stepped aside the table, walking a couple of steps until he was in front of his brother. Seeing Thor so vulnerable was twisting his insides, but he needed to clarify a couple of issues. “I didn't do it. Loki, your Loki, did died in Thanos hands. After the battle of New York, your friend Stark and that other guy dropped the Tesseract at my feet, so I just took it and run away with it.” He opened his palm and the stone flied from the place where it stood on the floor, before closing his hand again and making it disappear in the air. “It also showed me where to find you.”

“I see.” It was just in that moment when Thor realized that his brother looked, in fact, younger. The battle of New York happened almost 10 years ago. Loki looked just as he looked back in the day, the events of their history not weighting on him yet. “So my Loki... the other Loki…” He corrected himself. “…did die. I see.” For the first time in his life, he didn't know how to behave around his brother. The last years had not been easy between them, and the possibility of Loki still being dangerous haunted him. After all, he tried to kill him several times in New York. Could he trust him after stealing yet again the Tesseract? He stared at the god, finally deciding to speak after a long silence. “So, what are your intentions exactly? I hope you are not... trying to conquer Earth again, because I will kick your ass into to a cell if that is the case.”

“Worry not, brother of mine, those plans are long gone.-he immediately answered, getting a bit closer to Thor. “The tesseract showed me more than just your location. I could see my future, what happened with Malekith, what happened with Hela and with Asgard, and... what happened in the Commodore, when--- well, when I died.” He closed his eyes for a second, licking his lips. “I just thought I needed to do something about it. I needed to change that future. It wasn't very appealing, you know?” He smiled and open his eyes, looking at his brother as if he was seeing him for the first time. “I am not the brother you knew, but a different version.” The trickster raised his hands in a sign of surrender, looking to the blonde straight in the eye. “And I really hope this time my time is a bit longer.”

Thor almost choked with his own breath when he heard his brother speak those words. As terrified as he was, in that moment he could only feel his heart hammering in his chest, blood pumping in his ears while humidity started to accumulate in his eyes. Not everything was lost then, Loki was there with him, maybe not his Loki technically, but at least that new version seemed to have forgotten about his hatred and prejudices, he seemed grown just like his own Loki had been before dying.  
Thor gave a couple of tentative steps, finally crossing the distance from the trickster to wrap him in his arms hard enough to suffocate him had he been a normal human.

“Loki…” He muttered in a small sob, breathing in the unmistakably smell of the other god. He felt the hands of his brother, unsure at first, reaching out until surrounding his waist and a sigh of contentment left his lips. “I never thought we would ever like this again.”  
Loki had initially frozen at the abrupt demonstration of affection, but he slowly let himself be wrapped in that delicious warmth that his brother radiated. He had to remind himself that he wasn’t his Thor, not the one he learned to live with after years of conflict. Not only his body had change, but he noticed how much his brother spirit had turned into something else. His charisma, his cheerfulness, all of that was gone. Loki didn’t need the Tesseract vision in order to know that those years had been rough on the blonde god. He tightened his hold on the other one, letting himself enjoy that moment just a little longer.  
None of them knew who started letting go first on the hug, walking back almost reluctantly until they were face to face again, both trying to recover from such a show of emotions that none of them were used to. Thor readjusted his wide midgarian clothes, ashamed of his physical appearance for the first time in years. He cleared his throat.

“I am sorry, many years has passed since I thought I lost you. We should get out of here, this place is not really used… so you know, it’s dirty. My house is not far though, you can come with me and stay there if you want. To be honest, we have plenty of houses around here, people don’t want to come and live in a fishing village populated by aliens, you know?”

Loki was still trying to put his thoughts in line after the reunion, when he finally realized that his brother was talking to him. He raised his eyes to meet a sad pair of astonishing blue eyes.

“Well, since I am here I suppose it will make sense to me to stay for a while. I want to know all the details about my future… former… whatever me. I don’t want to commit the same mistakes that lead to… well, getting my neck snapped by Thanos. I think it will be a waste.”

“Don’t mock about that subject, Loki, please, I beg you.” The blonde moaned, trying with all his might to put aside all the memories of that day, of his green eyes losing the light forever, his last words to him before…. “We have a lot to talk, so let’s move in that case.”

He turned around and open the door, hoping the trickster would join him, and started walking towards his hut, his heart a mixture of relief and apprehension.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here we are again, second chapter. I know this is a bit on the slow side, but we will get these two morons together soon, it has to happened. I hope you guys enjoy, thank you very much for reading and for the comments and kudos. They make me really happy :)

Thor thanked his past self in that moment for having the idea of sorting out his things and tidying the house before the arrival of Loki. He had enough shame of his appearance to add extra pressure for the state of his man cave. He entered in the living room and looked around, taking away the sheets that were covering the sofas in a hurry, trying to make the flat as comfortable as possible. He wondered if Loki would like to stay there with him, we would rather have him around in a moment like that. They had a lot to talk to, after all, and it would give the blonde the mental peace that he needed in that moment.

The dark haired god enter with cautious steps in the house, examining everything with detailed. The house was tiny, cramped, almost claustrophobic. He knew that Thor had distanced himself from the luxuries of the Palace of Asgard, but that was something else. He noticed that almost everything was also packed, as if the God was planning to move or go away from that place.

“Going somewhere?” He asked casually, passing one of his hands over a sofa, caressing the fabric with the tip of his fingers. “This barely looks like a place where you would live.”

“Ah, you see. A very gentle rabbit invited me to travel with his friends. We were supposed to go through space and help those who seek aid.” Thor raised a hand to his chin, scratching a bit his busy bear. “They are a very picturesque group, ‘Guardians of the Universe’ or something of that sort they are called.”

“Oh, I understand.” He moved his eyes around the room again, turning back to his brother. “Are you still going? I didn't thought that you would decide to travel, being the king of... well, of what it is left of Asgard. Although I don't imagine this place will need a lot of leadership.”

“Well... I don't know. I mean, I decided to go because I didn't have anything to tie me here.” _But now you are here, crashing into my world and turning it outside down again._ He suddenly realized that Loki didn't know about his whole decision in regards the throne. “Oh, I am not king anymore. I abdicated, Valkyrie is the queen now. To be fair, I lost interest in this many years ago.” _Since the day that I lost you for the first time_. “It makes sense to be honest. I don’t think I am suited to be king anyway. And Dad is no longer here to pressure me into it.”

“Ah, that is true.” Loki’s eyes grew slightly darker, remembering that none of his parents were with them anymore. He thought of Frigga, and the last moments he spend with her. It didn’t feel fair to the trickster. He wanted to at least have the opportunity to apologize to her, to see her one last time. He closed his hands into fists, walking up one of the windows, looking outside to not have to face the blonde. “Did Odin die here? I saw a very similar landscape in the visions.”

Thor swallowed, observing every step of the trickster. By jumping from his timeline, Loki had just lost both of his parents at once, and even if at the moment of the jump he was still angry, that didn’t change the fact that he would never be able to see them again. Specially their mum. He would never be grateful enough for that last conversation with Frigga months ago. Even if he couldn’t change the past, he was granted the chance to hold her and say goodbye. He closed his eyes and let Loki a moment to himself.

“Yeah, it is not far from here. We were with him when it happened.” He opened his eyes and started talking slowly. “He said that this could be Asgard. Maybe I took it a bit too literal, but I thought it would be a good place to start anew.”

“It is not as fine as Asgard was. But there is not a single place that could be as beautiful, so I suppose it is as good as it can be.” Loki turned around and walked to his brother side. “Would you take me there? I want to see it with my own eyes.”

Thor would have lied if that request didn’t surprised him, but at the end, maybe he just wanted to see by himself the place where his father passed. He would have possibly done the same with the place where Frigga died, but Asgard was nothing but dust in space at that point. The least he could do was to create a real memory with one of his parents.

“Aye, I’ll take you there. We will have to walk a bit though, I have never fancied those cars that midgarians use. You should rest and clean first, I am sure you don’t want to go dressed still in your battle garment.” He made a slight movement with his head so the other would follow him to the bathroom. “I will give you some clothes. Sorry, I don’t think I have anything green.”

“I will survive.” He had to admit that the thought of washing and changing clothes was really appealing at that moment. Loki raised his eyebrows and crossed his arms, though, when he heard his brother speak. “Are you sure you will be able to do it? I don't see you very fit these days, Thor.” He spoke with a slight sarcasm in his voice, half smiling. There was no evil in the comment though, just a mere joke. That really lifted a weight from the blonde's heart, he liked that change of attitude in Loki, more like the one he used to know before all their problems started.

“I am fitter of what I look.” His voice failed for a moment when he uttered the words. He knew the poor condition in which he was now, but he was decided to fix that soon. He left some clothes on the bed, letting the other decide what he wanted to wear.

Loki leaned over the t-shirts, choosing a simple comfortable outfit. He followed his brother’s indications and went into the bathroom, washing himself, putting on the wide black hoodie and loose jeans that he was given. He sighed, trying to comb with his hands his now wet hair. “So, what’s with all this new look?”

“I suppose I have let myself go a bit.” He admitted, looking at his now big belly and unruly beard and hair. “I was thinking on starting to exercise again. Drowning myself in alcohol is not going to solve anything. That is also why I wanted to travel.”

“It is not a bad idea.” Loki dared to say, almost wanting to bite his own tongue immediately. He didn't want him to go that early, not now that they have finally met, and they were in good terms. But after all, he didn't have the right to make him stay, and that simple thought made Loki's chest hurt. “Can we go now? I would like to see the place today.”

“Nothing's carved on stone just yet.” Now that Loki was back, the blonde couldn't imagine himself leaving him behind, but there was still some tension between them, and he didn't know if that weird truce would last, nor if Loki was actually thinking on staying long. It was all still too soon to decided, he reminded himself, not wanting to jump into conclusions.

\---

Hours later, both brothers were walking outside the village in one of the multiple paths of the area. Loki followed Thor with light steps, looking around as if he was trying to adjust himself to that new reality. For some reason, everything still looked extremely dream-like, not only the fact that they were alone in the middle of a forest, but also every conversation had a surreal tint. The trickster cleared his throat, wanting to get out of his own head if only for a moment.

“It looks like it will rain soon. Care to do something about it?” He asked in a casual way, observing how his brother looked a bit over his shoulder to answer him from where he was ahead of him.

“If that's the case we will find a shelter. It has been a while since the last time I controlled weather, and I don't want to accidentally cause a thunderstorm in the village.” He said almost as an apology, continuing walking whilst trying to hide his agitated breathing. He really needed to start exercising.

“By the Norns, what have you been doing all these years?” Asked Loki with slight annoyance. After the shower he had, he didn't particularly want to end up soaked by the cold Norwegian rain. “I hope we can reach that place before the sunset...”

“Worry not, even if we stop, we will make it. It is only a couple of hours.” Muttered Thor with a small smile on his face, tongue in cheek. “Also, I remind you that you were the one that wanted to go.”

“Fine. No need to put that oaf face.” He rolled his eyes and gave a couple of long steps to reach his brother, walking in silence next to him. No matter what he did, there was still certain awkwardness between them, not knowing how to act around each other. Even if he didn't want to kill him anymore, he still had mixed feelings towards the blonde god after so many years at his shadow, and now there were too many things that he wanted to ask him, too many things he wanted to say to him. But they have lost enough time due to his stupid pride and hate, and that was his opportunity of getting over all those pointless problems. He wondered though, if they would ever be able to recover the relationship they once had... and he really didn't want to think what he would do if that was not possible.

The first drops were soon falling on them, and by the time they found a small cave as a shelter, they were both completely soaked by the torrential rain. Thor wringed his ponytail and clothes as good as he possibly could, sighing loudly.

“Forgive me, I thought it would take longer before it started raining. Weather is a bit erratic in this part of Midgard.” He walked around the cave, which was covered in branches and moss, but at least it was dry. He started picking up some wood under the attentive gaze of Loki, who started imitating him soon until both had enough to light a small bonfire in the middle of the cavity.

“Well, at least the cave was here.” The trickster moved his hand to start the fire with his magic, but only some sparkles came out of it. He deepened his frown and looked at Thor. “Do you mind? My magic doesn't seem to be quite there yet.”

“Of course, just a moment.” Thor approached and snapped his fingers, creating some electricity that immediately made the dry branches caught fire. He sat in front of it, watching as the flames slowly licked the wood, and extended his hands to warm up his hands.

Loki sat next to Thor, not far from him but without any kind of physical contact, observing some empty point of the fire with an inscrutable look on his face.

“This reminds me of our youth, when we used to go on adventures together through the realms.” Thor took his hand to his own hair, smiling when the memory came to his mind. Those years seemed so far away now, nothing but a dream. “Do you remember when we went to the Jötunheimr? Norns, how long did we spend sleeping on the open?”

“Too much. You don't really know how annoying is to try to sleep with your snores.” Loki laugh slightly, looking at the ceiling of the cave while his arms hugged his own knees in a relaxed way. “But those were good times.-he admitted, a small smile curving in his lips.”

“They were indeed. Loki…” Thor started, looking with a hint of doubt in his blue eyes. “There is something I want you to know.” He took a deep breath, turning to his side to look at his face. “I don't care that we are both from different timelines; to me you are still Loki. My mischievous, stupid god of lies.” Thor’s expression softened, and he smiled. “We might be a bit weird around each other still, but everything will be normal again. I am very happy to have you here.”

And there it was, the oaf he had for a brother, too good for his own good. Loki bit his lip, his chest tightening in an almost painful way. His ability to forgive was almost unbelievable, and the trickster wasn't sure if he deserved such trust. “Still so sensitive. You should not have me in such high esteem.”

“Call me a fool.” Thor agreed, looking at his hands and closing his right fist slightly. He raised his gaze though, taking one of his hands to rest on Loki's shoulder in a warm grip. “But I still think the world of you, Loki. That is never going to change, you were the one to show me that I could trust you.”

Loki's eyes barely opened, but he bit his lip and let his gaze fall on his brother with a great intensity. He looked again at the fire without saying anything, feeling that hand still on his shoulder. “When did you become so mature?”

“I lost everything. I lost my whole world. That changes you, Loki.” Thor said sadly, dropping his hand from his brother's shoulder and taking it to his own lap.

“You haven't lost everything. I am here, I am not?” Loki stated, looking at him from the corner of his eye, a plain expression of his face.

“That still doesn't change the fact that I saw you die.” The blonde’s voice was thick with bottled feelings, but he managed to control it.

“But I came back. At the end, I suppose I always do. Do you think the Norns have something to do with it?”

“I wouldn't know Loki, yet I suspect that our fates are somehow intertwined.”

“You could say that, maybe we are cursed to be the eternal enemies. It would be but appropriate for us.”

“I would not have denied your words a couple of years ago, but now I think that we might be meant for something bigger.”

“Bigger like what? Kings? There is no Asgard left, brother of mine, and even if you call this hole 'Asgardia' it doesn't turn it into a kingdom.”

“I don't mean it that way.”

“Then what is what you mean exactly?”

“Do you remember what mum used to say?”

“Please Loki, stop stabbing your brother?"

“That as well. But no, I meant what she used to say when we were competing against each other. That our qualities complemented each other. _‘If you boys put your heads together, there will be no warrior, king or monster capable of stopping you’_. Maybe she was on to something, maybe we should stick together, Loki.” Thor finished, convinced by his own words and confused at the pressure in his chest.

“You are too naive.” Loki snorted, passing his hand over his hair, a half smile in his face. _How I wish to believe those words, though._ The dark-haired thought, looking absently to the other side of the cave.

“Maybe. And yet you came to me, so maybe I am right for once.”

Loki didn't miss the fact that his brother had not called him ‘brother’ since their first encounter. More and more times, his full name had escaped his lips, making the trickster's skin crawl each time.

“So, have you decided yet?” Loki inquired, standing and stretching, dusting his pants with a couple of pats and with an apparent uninterested expression in his face.

“Decided about what?” Replied the blonde, his eyes and mind focused trying to read Loki's intentions. That was never an easy task, as Loki was always extremely secretly about his emotions and real thoughts.

“Well, you were going to space, weren't you? I have no interest in travelling for a while, but if you want to go... well, you don't really need to stay here. I won't stop you, you know.”

“Oh, Loki.” Thor smiled, seeing how nervous the other god seemed. He knew the other god, and even though he seemed calm, he could feel the slight anxiety in his words. The silver tongue was not infallible as it seemed. “Are you worried that you will miss me?” He allowed himself a little tease. He could not leave, not like that. He didn't want to admit it, but he had practically taken his decision the moment he saw Loki in that kitchen table. But he enjoyed seeing the other god reacting like that to his possible departure, so he didn't erase the goofy smile on his face.

“Don't get too cocky. Also, the rain has stopped, we should move.” Loki cleared his throat a bit, changing topic and looking around, putting his hands in his pockets.

“Aye, aye.” Thor got up and put out the fire before starting the walk again. They walked in silence next to each other, both lost in their own thoughts. The blonde looked at Loki every now and then, a small smile crawling in his lips at the way his brother silently asked not to leave him. Something warm spread through his chest, remembering how things just to be between them when they were younger. He wanted those times back so badly that he let himself feel for the first time a bit of hope. Maybe this time things would go well. No more loses, no more pain, no more death. He was not alone anymore, and even though that scared him, it also lifted a huge weight of his shoulders.

After walking for a while, Thor started to discern the clearing where he saw his father for the last time. Nothing had changed there in all those years -the grey sky, the fresh grass, the turbulent ocean. For a moment, he thought that it was yesterday when they were there, and not that already 6 long years had passed. Loki didn't wait, and he walked fast to the cliff, his eyes, burning with intense emotion, were observing every detail of the place. Licking his lips, he started bending down until his legs touched the floor, kneeling in front of the abyss, his eyes fixated in the horizon.

“Odin, Frigga, I bid you take your place in the halls of Valhalla... Where the brave shall live forever. Nor shall we mourn but rejoice for those that have died the glorious death.” Loki whispered, a shiver going through his spine when he thought about the meaning of his own words. He knew he was doing the right thing though; since he missed their passing, at least he would pray for their souls in that place.

Thor moved silently to the dark-haired man, trying to give him some intimacy. Up till that moment, Loki hadn't had the chance to either say goodbye or mourn his parents, so that was an important step on his behalf. Had not been for the Tesseract visions, he wouldn't even know that they had passed away; the blonde didn't really know what the other god was feeling, but he was going to be with him, and together they would honour their progenitors, just as they should have done long time ago. He knelt next to Loki without uttering a word, simply looking to the same empty abyss than him.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked it. I will try to update next week again!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh dear, life got complicated and my brain was just not there. Here is the third chapter, as always, I hope you all enjoy it and you will be able to leave a comment if so :)

Loki kept looking at the horizon long time after he finished with his prayers. He could feel the silent presence of his brother next to him, lost in his own thoughts. Loki’s heart beat loudly in his chest, so he waited a moment to recover his breath and to overcome that aura.  
  
Some long minutes later, he took a deep breath and got up, patting his pants in order to remove the trails of grass. He looked at Thor with the corner of his eye, starting to talk once the blonde got up and stood a couple of feet away from him.  
  
“Don’t get used to me saying this.” Loki mumbled, passing one of his hands over his hair in a vain attempt to shake away his own nerves. “Thank you.” Loki’s eyes were fixated on some point in the floor whilst he spoke. “Coming all the way here… has been very important for me. And… I am sorry. For everything.”  
  
Thor’s eyes opened enormously, he didn’t quite expect that gesture from his brother. Norns, when was the last time that Loki had…? Suddenly, the smell of burned flesh reached his nostrils… the dust, Svartalfheim’s wind howling unceasingly in the eternal darkness of those volcanic lands. _I am a fool .I am sorry, I am sorry_. Thor remembered the weight of Loki’s body turning heavier in his arms, the light abandoning those precious green eyes. Something in his own body pulled from him until he got closer to the trickster, his hand reaching for his neck like he had done so many times before in the past.  
  
“You don’t have to thank me for anything, nor apologise.” He got slightly closer, his forehead pressing against Loki’s. “We should have done this long time ago, you know?” Thor whispered the words with certain tenderness, touched by the memory. Too much death had surrounded him in the last couple of years, too much even for a god like him. But he had recovered Loki, his Loki. That situation itself was practically a miracle, and he was too afraid to let him go in that moment.  
  
“Sentiment” Mumbled Loki, slightly ashamed. Yet, he allowed Thor to continue the contact that he sought so much deep inside. He sighed, raising his hands to rest in Thor’s forearms. “I told you already, don’t get used to it…”  
  
“Aye, aye.” He tightened slightly his hold on Loki. “We should come back, you are still recovering.” Thor’s mouth was pronouncing those words, but he didn’t make any movement to let go of the trickster. He was too comfortable in that bubble, enjoying the company and warmth of the younger god. “Would you… Are you coming with me… home?” Thor muttered, a slight note of hope could be perceived in his voice.  
  
“Yes…” Sighed Loki. “Yes, you are right.” Loki took a couple of steps away, finally separating himself from the blonde. With certain awkwardness, Loki rubbed the side of his neck in which Thor’s heat was still lingering. “Let’s get back.”  
  
The trip home was silent, both gods dealing with their own internal dilemmas. By the time they were back in Thor’s house, the rain had started to pour hard, leaving them completely soaked. Loki grunted when he put a step into the house, trying to comb his hair with his hands in a vain attempt.  
  
“I hate so much not having my seidr recovered. Drying us would take me seconds.” He scoffed, patting his clothes and walking to the fireplace to throw some logs in it. He kneeled in front of the wood, snapping his fingers to light a fire. Suddenly, a giant flare raised from the wood, making Loki fall on his bottom in an almost comical manner. “Well…” He finally said, wiping the sweat and ash that had accumulated in his brow. “At least there’s fire now.”  
  
“You shouldn’t be using magic yet in the first place, Loki” scolded Thor, going to his side to double check that he had not burned his face. Once he was sure that Loki was ok, he sighed and dropped a towel on the trickster’s head. “Here, dry yourself up. And please, try not to burn down the house.”  
  
“You shouldn’t be using magic yet in the first place, Loki” scolded Thor, going to his side to double check that he had not burned his face. Once he was sure that Loki was ok, he sighed and dropped a towel on the trickster’s head. “Here, dry yourself up. And please, try not to burn down the house.”  
  
"As if that would be a great loss" Loki hissed, drying his hair and the rest of his body with the towel. He took off the hoodie that his brother had given him as well as his boots. "Do you have anything to drink at all? I think I need it."  
  
"Let me go and see if I have some wine left" Thor walked over to the cupboard in which he kept the alcohol, searching inside. Even though he'd got rid of most of the contents of his pantry, he was sure that he still had some bottles of wine.   
  
He reappeared moments later, finding Loki sitting in front of the fireplace with his hands stretched towards the flames. Thor approached him with the wine glasses, offering one with a soft smile on his face before sitting next to him on the floor. Thor had not figured out completely how he felt about the whole situation yet, but he wanted to make good use of his time with Loki without having to worry about anything else apart from his sarcasm. The situation seemed almost funny for Thor, as the last time that they had shared a moment like that was before his first coronation, and even if many years had passed since then, he immediately felt brought back to the times of their youth, when it was only them against the world. Their trips together, their adventures. Nothing could separate them. At least, until life decided to do it so. But the Norns seemed to have pitied them for once, and Thor was not keen of committing the same mistakes this time.   
  
"What's with that face of yours?" Loki, who was sipping at his wine while studying the blond. The question appeared suddenly, immediately breaking Thor's immersion in his own thoughts. “You look both happy and terrified.”  
  
"I was just thinking" Thor stated vaguely, not wanting to share details about his tray of thought. "It has been many years since we had drinks together, Loki. I think it is enough reason to be happy. But I still fear that this might be but just a cruel dream."   
  
"Keep being so mature and you will explode. I suggest to leave the thinking to me." Loki stretched his legs until they were close to the fire, as well as close to his brother. "I think that the Thor I left in my timeline would not be as happy as you to have me so close."  
  
"Loki, you wanted to kill me and slave humanity. Of course he is not happy with you." Thor let go a breath. As intelligent as Loki was, he could really be very obtuse at time in certain matters. "Believe me, had you behaved like you are doing now, we would not had half of the problems we had in the past. “He just... I mean, all I ever wanted was to take you home again."  
  
"It is complicated, Thor. Even if you don't think so." Loki got a bit more comfortable next to the fireplace, his gaze lost in the flames. "It was naive of me to trust Thanos, I know. Well, it wasn’t really like that. I thought I could use him. But it turned out the other way. He planted that thing in my mind and I could no longer..." He closed his eyes, shaking his head. "I have been a fool."  
  
"Look, if I have learned something in these years, is that no one in our family is free of guilt." Thor talked in a firm tone, leaning in the opposite side of the fireplace, the fire itself separating both gods. He was looking straight at Loki, even if the other had not started the visual contact yet. "I know you are not aware of it, but this conflict between us has lasted far too long. I no longer think that there is nothing good left in you. I know what happened and I know that you have changed. Just before Thanos came, everything was finally ok between us, we..." Thor looked at his hands, those that couldn't protect him from Thanos. He failed him, and he knew it. But he sworn to himself, that this time it would be different.  
  
Loki his hands, a small gesture of surrender, and he was finally looking straight at Thor. "I understand. We should leave the past for now." He took the wine glass and lifted it to his lips, drank it up in a series of gulps before offering it to his brother so he could refill it. "I have a whole new life ahead. I think that calls for a good celebration, don't you think?"   
  
\----  
  
  
Hours passed like seconds. At the dimmed light of the fireplace, both Thor and Loki laughed, remembering anecdotes and stories of their youth. The wine slowly crept into their cheeks, turning them slightly pink. Loki's eyes shone with energy, his magic slowly coming back to his body and filling him with magic. He gulped his tenth glass of wine, finishing it with a small smile on his face.  
  
"You were a beautiful bride, Thor. I tell you." Loki rested on his side on the floor, leaning on his elbow, remembering his brother with his massive beard covered by a veil, so many millennia ago.  
  
"Loki, stop. That was very embarrassing, you know?" Thor answered with a particularly calm face, but faked a small pout just to tease his brother. "I was so worried about what would they say about me. Still, I went ahead with your crazy plan."  
  
"Well, I dressed up as well and went with, so it was not only to mock you. I would not have done that if everything was but a jest. Also, it worked." Loki smirked, looking straight in the eye of his brother. How much he had missed that, to be able to just spend time listening to his brother’s laugh. How much time they’d lost. How much hatred spilled, how much hurt was done. He had been a fool.   
  
"I suppose" Thor admitted, changing from his sitting position to lean on his elbow just like Loki, his head not far away from his. "I also remember when you left Lady Sif bald. I still can't believe that you were so mean to her."  
  
"Well..." Loki started, serving himself another glass of wine. "I was young and jealous. Also, all of your friends hated me, so I am sorry for not being nice."  
  
"They didn't hate you. I think you were just very different from each other. They can be a bit brutish, but they are good lads" He said softly, knowing now how excluded his brother had felt back then. He sighed and suddenly wondered. "What I still don't understand is... why Sif? I thought she was literally the only one that you talk with every now and then."  
  
Loki was sipping at his glass when he heard the question, almost choking with the liquid. "We did talk." He started, looking at the ruby coloured wine as if it was the most fascinating element in the room. "She loved you. She always has, and that annoyed me."  
  
"Wait, did she?" Thor started understanding in that precise moment a lot of behaviours from his lady friend, almost wanting to kick himself for being so obtuse. "Anyway, I still don't understand why you would even care about that, she is a good girl..." Thor opened even more his eyes, and then Loki silenced him with another look.   
  
"You can be quite dense, you know?" Loki snorted, leaving the glass on the floor. "I hated her because I couldn't do the same as her."  
  
"You... do what?" Thor’s voice nothing but a whisper, his eyes suddenly locked on the brunette.  
   
“Because I was not supposed to love you like her.” Loki raised his gaze until it met the now bicolour look of Thor, biting his lip slightly before he signed again. “You really are thick, Thor.” He raised a hand to Thor’s cheek, giving him a small sad smile. “That’s why I always take advantage of you.”  
  
Loki’s words spread like silk on Thor’s skin, he was completely mesmerized with the green orbs in front of him. And finally, in slow moves, Loki leaned forward until he joined his lips to his brother’s without any hesitation. The kiss was short and chaste, Loki's mouth closed against his brother's, pressing slightly against it before retreating. He casted his eyes down.  
  
"Loki... I..." Whispered Thor, his mind completely blocked after that kiss. Loki moved his hand from Thor's cheek to his lips, silencing him. He wasn’t ready to hear the rejection.  
  
"Don't. I think I should be going, I still need to recover much of my seidr." He got up, giving Thor one last look before losing himself in the guest room that he showed him before, closing the door after himself.   
  
Thor stayed where he was, static, opening his mouth as if he was going to say something, but saying nothing instead. He got up, not as fast as he used to, and walked to the door of the guest room, raising a hand to knock. But he stopped just a second after, leaning his forehead against the door. It would be better if they spoke in the morning, after the alcohol had faded and they had cooled off. He really needed to rest after all the emotions he had experienced, and he needed to process the fact that Loki had just kissed him. Not because of the kiss itself, but just because he couldn't get a hold at the fact that he wished that that it hadn’t ended. He reached his room and lay on his bed, looking at the ceiling whilst he was trying to imagine what he wanted to say to Loki after the night. He could still feel his soft lips against his, and without realizing he lifted his hand to touch his own lips. How long had Loki felt like that, he wondered. He needed to speak to him, because even if he had not figured out his own feelings yet, that kiss had definitely fired some emotions in his own chest that he definitely wanted to explore. He closed his eyes and tried to sleep, hoping the morning would come soon.  
  
But when morning finally came, Loki was no longer there. 

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here I am again, I am sorry it took SO long. This one was a bit of a challenge, and it also turned out huge. So here it is, I hope you guys enjoy it. Thank you very much to everyone that bother to leave a wee comment :)
> 
> Also, I might do a second proofreading this weekend, when I am not in cerebral comma after work. Enjoy!

Thor was sitting in the empty bed of the guest room, his gaze lost in some undetermined spot of the place. Loki was gone. When he woke up that morning, the blonde was decided to talk about the previous night with his brother. Even though he was a complete nerve wreck, he had gone to the door, this time not stopping himself and knocking. He had waited for several long minutes, being able to find the courage to try a second time. Loki always had a very light sleep, so Thor was surprised when no answer came from the other side. Was he that angry with him? Bursting into the place might not have been the best of ideas, after all, especially knowing how volatile Loki's temper could be when he was annoyed, but Thor needed to know if the other god was ok. He turned the doorknob and entered the space slowly, not wanting to wake Loki in case he was still asleep.   
  
Emptiness.  
  
That's what Thor felt when he discovered that Loki was no longer there. An emptiness that took hold of his stomach, filling it with a heavy feeling that prevented him from breathing. Just a day. That was the time that he had been able to enjoy his brother once again, a precious memory now lost in a new nest of nightmares.   
  
Thor raised his hands to cover his face, letting all the air in his lungs out when he realized that he was holding it. All that was his goddamned fault. No wonder that Loki had left, how would have the blonde felt, had he behaved with him the same way? He had let him go, he had let Loki go because he was stupidly slow, and he had not given him the support and care that he needed. He swore under his breath, as Loki had left under his own volition, he was sure. The room was just as he left him the day before, so it was possible that Loki had recovered part of his magic and teleported somewhere. Without realizing, Thor took his hand to his lips, remembering the feeling of the kiss that Loki had given him the night before, as well as the declaration that he said with his silver tongue. Thor wondered when had those feeling arose in the trickster. Could those be the reason or part of the reason for all the problems between they had?  
  
"I am not your brother. I never was"  
  
Thor raised his head. Was that the reason? Was that the reason why Loki kept denying their brotherhood, why he was so adamant in denying the reality? He bit his lip, feeling stupid for not realizing before. Everything made all the damn sense in the world now. And yet, he didn't even dare to give him an answer, to stop him or follow him to his room and make him feel loved. He couldn't deny that he was scared of his feelings, but that was no excuse. Loki had open himself for once, and as a response, he had only watched him go without doing anything about it. Now he would have to live knowing that he had broken whatever was left of Loki's heart.   
  
He stayed in the room for a long time, until suddenly the sound of knocking took him out of his dream-state. He rushed to the entrance and almost crashed himself against the door. "Loki!?" the blonde exclaimed, his face full of hope for a moment.  
   
"No? Sorry, I just wanted to check that you two didn't kill each other or anything like that." Valkyrie's surprised face greeted Thor at the door, one of her eyebrows raised in question. "Did something happened? You look quite pale, although the fact that you are not stabbed yet is a good sign."   
  
"Damned it, I thought..." he started, disappointed soon crept over his's eyes, lowering his gaze as he mumbled. "Loki's gone."  
  
"But I thought you were in good terms. Oh shit, that was with the old Loki," the woman grimaced before showing Thor what she had in her hands. "Look, I know I should not encourage you to drink again, but this is a peace offer. Also, I don't think a couple of beers more are going to make a difference at this point." She pinched Thor in his bloated stomach with a smile in an attempt of a joke, knowing that Thor would not get offended if it came from her.    
  
Thor got out of the way to let the warrior enter, closing the door behind her. They both walk to the sofa, sitting next to each other as many a time in the past years. Thor grabbed the beer that Valkyrie was offering him, taking a sip before looking at her eyes.  
  
"I have to find him, his seidr is not fully recovered. He could run into an enemy, or fall sick or..." Thor took a deep breath and raised one hand to his face. "I can't lose him again, Valkyrie. I can't."  
  
"Ok, I see that this is not a matter of personal revenge and that he has gone out of his own will, hasn't he?" asked her before sipping at her beer. "Maybe go after him?"  
  
"Believe me, if Loki doesn't want to be found, he won't be found. That's my biggest problem right now." Putting the beer on the table, Thor continued speaking in a sad voice. "It is my fault. I shouldn't have reacted as I did."  
  
"Did you guys fight?" Valkyrie was looking at Thor attentively. It was pretty amazing how well the woman knew him by now, even though their friendship was barely a few years old. No time really for a pair of Asgardians.  
  
"Something like that." Thor played with his hair, grabbing the beer again to have another sip. He didn't want to reveal the intimacies of the trickster, but he also didn't know well Valkyrie would react if he told her Loki's feelings. Norns, he didn't even know himself how he felt about it, but if he had that conversation, it should be with Loki first. "I don't know what to do. If I go after him and he comes back and I am not here..."  
  
"Thor, first of all, relax. One step at a time, remember? Maybe he... I don't know, he had to see someone because of his magic. He has always been a loner." Valkyrie laid a hand on top of one of his friends' broad shoulders, trying to give him some comfort among all the insults. "I am sure he will come back, bothering you seems to be his dearest hobby."  
  
"I hope you are right..." muttered the blonde, sighing. "I also need your help with something. Do you have some scissors?  
  
Valkyrie raised both eyebrows in shock, but she nodded briefly. Thor decided that it was time to start over. He knew perfectly that finding Loki would be an impossible task, especially if the other didn't want Thor to find him. Since he didn't have much choice but to wait, he decided to start with something simple by asking his friend to fix his hair. Once she started with the task, tangled blonde curls started falling to the floor, covering it completely after the choir was finished. He looked his reflection in the mirror, almost not recognizing the man that was reflected on the other side looking back at him. That was the face he used to have. That was the THor he remembered being, apart from... He put a face when he saw again his ample belly, touching it slightly.   
  
"I train every morning, you know? Just in case another Thanos appears." Valkyrie had not missed the gesture of the former king, so she stepped behind him. "You're welcome to join me, as long as you are not too much of a burden."  
  
"I will keep it in mind, thank you. I think it is time to get back to normal." Thor smiled at her. Maybe not everything was lost, maybe it was true that Loki needed some time or some issue to resolve before coming back. Also, Thor would contact SHIELD anyway to help him find him. After saving the world several times, Fury still owed him a big favor.   
  
\------------  
The following weeks were a massive test for Thor, but he tried to focus as much as he could into organize his thoughts and his life again. He met the Guardians of the Galaxy on the day they had decided to pick him up, and with an apologetic smile, he declined to go with them without much explanation. Even though they offered to pick him up again in the future, Thor was not sure he wanted to go anymore. After all, he had other priorities at the moment, and that was all that mattered. Fury wasn't particularly amused when Thor finally gave him a phone call, but the conversation was as good as it could get taking into account that the leader of SHIELD possibly hated the idea of Loki wandering alone in Midgard. At least it gave him the perfect excuse to make the man help him find the trickster. That was all that Thor could do to try to find his brother, wait and hope for a miracle of a change of mind in Loki. He didn't know which one had more possibilities to happen earlier. Patience was never one of the virtues of the blonde, but focusing on himself helped to a certain degree to forget about the anxiety that grew on his chest with each day that Loki was still missing. Every morning, he would get up early to train with Valkyrie, who didn't seem very occupied otherwise with her new role. But it was ok, life was calm in New Asgard, and Thor hoped for his people's sake that it stayed that way. His body slowly stopped being so heavy, and after several weeks of training his Aesir nature made it go back partially to his former self. He still didn't look as polished as he used to years ago, but each day closer to it. Wearing his old clothes felt good, feeling himself again felt incredible. Thor could feel the strength coming back, and that was the greatest satisfaction he had in years.   
  
Nevertheless, the last night that Loki and Thor spent together still haunted him. He had failed him once again, this time he wasn't able to open himself when his brother needed him to in a rare moment of vulnerability. He felt stupid for not having reacted on time, and they still had a lot to talk about. Thor only prayed to have yet another chance to do it.  
  
His dreams were restless since Loki left, but that night, exactly six weeks after, they become even more haunting.   
  
Thor was sitting in one of the wide gardens of Asgard, far away from the Palace. That day was one of the few times in which the blonde decided to search for solitude, humiliated by one of the ladies of the palace that rejected his attentions with a burst of cruel laughter. He was sitting in the grass in front of one of the ponds, taciturn and throwing wisps of grass to the water.   
  
"Brother!" A teen Loki ran towards him, sitting next to him with a smile on his face. He immediately noticed the bad mood in which his brother was, smirking a bit more. "What's with that face? Did father scold you again?"   
  
"No, it has nothing to do with him," grumbled Thor, throwing the rest of the grass to the waters. "Do you know who's lady Sygil?"  
  
"You mean the new lady of the court? Don't tell me she has already rejected you, that was fast." He joked the trickster, giving his brother's a small nudge. "I don't know how I didn't realize earlier that it was one of your woman troubles"    
  
"She didn't reject me! She was, for starters, the one that took me behind the columns of the Great Hall. But then..." Thor started, hiding his head in his knees. "She said that if my kissing skills were as good as my battle skills, Asgard was doomed to failure." The blonde heard the small laughter that came from his brother, immediately turning his red face to scold him. "It's not funny, Loki! I am sure the whole court knows about it already!"  
  
"But you have to admit it is funny. Also, it was you who decided to go after one of the most gossipy ladies in the court. Everyone knows it." Loki shrugged, but afterward, he pitied his brother and gave him a small smile. "Rumours will pass, though. Also, you are the favorite golden boy, remember? It's not that you are lacking fans. A bit of rejection every now and then doesn't suit you badly."   
  
"Loki, I am not in the mood." he groaned, returning to his original position with crossed arms and hiding face in them, an angry expression showing in his face whilst he looked into the pond.  
  
"Hey, how is any of this my fault? Also, who cares what she says? It's not that she's right. Or do you believe that?" asked the trickster, opening the book that he had brought with him and passing the pages with a distracted gesture.   
  
"Of course she is not right. I just... I didn't like her that much, you know? muttered Thor, looking at his hands. He was ashamed, but that girl had practically dragged him to a quiet place to make out, possibly just because he was the soon to be crowned prince. It wasn't the first time that something like that happened to him, but it still saddened the blond. "I had never heard a comment like that. It was so humiliating..."   
  
"If you are going to be king one day, you need to get a thicker skin, brother. Just ignore that witch." Loki heard on the distance the unmistakable voice of their mum calling him, but being still out of their sight. He realized that it was almost time for his magic lesson, so he closed his book and got up in a jump. "I gotta go, Mother is looking for me. I'll see you later." Loki crouched in front of Thor for a second, grabbing him by the chin and planting a soft kiss on his lips. The contact was brief, only long enough for Thor's eyes to open in surprise. Loki laughed and got away from him, starting running towards the Palace. "Not bad, but you need to practice!"  
  
Thor followed his brother with his eyes, still blushed by his behavior. They weren't children anymore, that kind of thing was not alright. And yet, his heart had skipped a beat...  
  
The landscape started to grow dark and blurry, and Thor suddenly started falling into the nothingness, his stomach getting sick. Everything was darkness around him, but a cold dead voice started to sound in his mind.   
  
_"I will hunt you, God of Thunder. And I will take everything that you hold dear, as I was robbed from everything that I cared about."_  
  
Thor woke up all of a sudden, the bitter taste of bile in his mouth. He panted, grabbing the front of his sweaty t-shirt. His eyes traveled to the nightstand, where the buzzing of his phone was coming from. Reaching out, he grabbed the machine and accepted the call that appeared on the screen.   
  
"Yes?" he asked with a certain awkwardness. He would never get completely used to those machines, but after being the only uncommunicated Avenger before Thanos, Nick Fury had decided that whilst he was on Earth, he had to have one to be localized any minute.  
  
"Thor, we got him. The helicopter will pick you up in circa 20 min." Thor was greeted by Fury's serious and matter of factly voice at the other side of the receptor, sounding as constricted as always.   
  
Thor's eyes opened with surprise, getting up of the bed in a quick jump. He thanked briefly Fury over the phone before the other man cut the communication, sighing. He got dressed as fast as he could, looking at himself in the mirror with slight pride. He would have preferred traveling with Mjölnir, but unfortunately, the place where Loki had been taken seemed to be one of SHIELD's super-secret locations. After he put his boots on he went outside of his garden, which was soon filled by the lights and noises from the combat helicopter. A soldier saluted him, jumping outside of the vehicle as only a rushed soldier could.  
  
"Sir, we have orders to take you to Fury. Please, follow us." said the man in a polite way, making sure that Thor took his place and that the security belt was well tied once he sat.   
  
The flight lasted a couple of hours, but for Thor, it felt like the longest that he had done in his entire life. In his mind, all kinds of theories started flying, trying to imagine what would have been the true reason behind Loki's disappearance, as he was also hoping to learn that it wasn't what he feared. He didn't know if he would be able to look Loki in the eye if he discovered that he had broken his heart once again. Guilt would not let him do it. Vegetation started to clear, and after trespassing what seemed like a barrier of some sort, SHIELD's base was finally visible in the middle of the forest. It was a small base, nothing like the fancy plane that Thor had seen the first time, but it read high security. Thor jumped out of the helicopter once it landed, following to agents that greeted him on the entrance of the building. They started together with a path full of halls and long corridors, and each door they passed, the lump in his thoughts just grew bigger. The director was in the very last room of the building, standing with his hands behind his back. He was observing through a window that seemed to show another room next to the one in which they were. Without turning to see Thor, his voice sounded as cold and serious as always.  
  
"Welcome to our new base, Thor. I see you in better condition than the last time." He finally turned towards the blonde, extending a hand to shake it. Thor got closer and shook his hand briefly, his gaze betraying him and going straight to the window. The light in the other room was dim, but it was bright enough for Thor to distinguish Loki sitting on the bed with his back leaning on the wall, his gaze lifeless. He didn't seem to realize that they were observing him, and if he did, his face only showed tiredness and resignation. "We found him wandering in New York, as we were monitoring several irregular energy discharges in the area. It has been happening for the last couple of months, they come from a non-identify alien source. We crossed paths in one of our raids." Fury pointed at Loki with his head, before closing his eye for a moment. "He's not in his best shape, it was quite easy to get him. We called you the moment we brought him here." The director opened his eye again and looked straight at Thor, clearly displeased. "In the future, I would really appreciate if you watch over him better, or at least let us know that he is roaming free. Don't you dare think that I have forgotten his record, and I don't want a stray Asgardian psychopath on Earth, brother of yours or not. Have I made myself clear? Next time I get him like this, I'll get his ass in a cell.   
  
"Loki has already paid the price of his actions. I would encourage you to speak more carefully when referring to my brother, though." Thor didn't have time nor patience to explain Loki's death and his trip from another timeline to Fury. If anything, he would do it on another occasion, since at that moment the only thing he could think of was to open the door and check that Loki was fine. He relaxed a bit from the tension, knowing that angering Fury was not a good idea either. "Is he hurt?"   
  
"Not physically, but we checked his energy levels against the ones registered during NY incident and he seems to be drained. He has not left that bed since we brought him here." Thor looked Loki's figure again, which was exactly in the same position he had seen when he had entered the room. "I have to warn you, Thor," started Fury again, "That energy that we are monitoring comes from an alien source that we have never seen before, it is quite different from your species. It stinks of danger." Fury's gesture was cold, but the blonde was able to see behind his wall that the director was worried about the issue. "Be careful and watch your brother. I don't know if he is in any condition to travel, but I will allow you two to spend the night here if you promise to keep an eye on him."  
  
"I appreciate the gesture." Thor didn't know what Loki's plans were, so he thought it would be a bad idea to take him to Norway again without his consent. At least they could talk in that room, even if the situation was far from perfect. He sighed and passed his hand over his now short hair, looking at Fury straight to the eye. "Can I go inside?"  
  
"Go, I will make sure that you to have privacy whilst you are there," Fury agreed, his expression still calm despite everything. "Thor, I will repeat the same I said before, be careful. We might need to fight soon, and the Avengers are no longer there to help us."   
  
"We will be careful. Even if the Avengers are no longer united, Earth is still under my protection," said Thor, crossing his arms.  
  
Fury smiled slightly and started walking towards the door that Thor had used before to enter, looking at him one last time before leaving. "I thought that after Thanos, nothing else could attack us. How naive of me."  
  
Thor followed Fury with his gaze until he left the room, walking himself to the other door to enter Loki's room. It was simple and it had everything that a comfortable room needed to not look like the cell it was. It reminded Thor of the Asgardian prison. The light of the sunrise started filling the place, bringing more brightness to the bed where Loki was sitting. He walked towards it carefully, grabbing a seat at the end to leave Loki some space. He opened his mouth, suddenly dry, and asked quietly, "Loki?"   
  
Loki's body barely moved, but his big green eyes shone in the semi-darkness of the room, following Thor all over it until he was sitting next to him. When he spoke, his voice was nothing but a whisper, as if he didn't believe the fact that he was there with him, even if he had him in front. "What are you doing here?" he asked.   
  
"They called me the moment they... picked you up." Thor didn't want to use the word "arrest" or anything similar. The fact that Loki was captured so easily must have hurt his brother's pride, especially if his magic was not fully recovered yet. The blonde leaned slightly and took one of his hands to Loki's arm, giving him a soft squeeze before removing it from there. "Are you ok? Fury offered that we spend the night if you can't travel yet." Talking about mundane things was easy, it was comfortable. He didn't know how angry the trickster was, and he wasn't sure either that he was ready to get a dagger between his ribs.  
  
"I can't use my magic yet. I used the last bit I had to..." Loki winced, moving to change posture slightly in clear discomfort. "... to teleport me to NY." His face was far gaunter than it was a few weeks ago, and an apathetic gesture was now in power of his pale features.  
  
"I see," nodded Thor, confirming that Loki had left out of his own volition. He licked his lips before starting to talk with a soft voice, "Loki..."  
  
"Thor, I have no strength left for this." Snapped the trickster, taking one of his delicate hands to his temple, massaging it in a clear gesture of annoyance. "I am exhausted, but I will leave as soon as I recover a bit of my power." He pressed his lips together and raised his eyes to meet Thor's in an attempt of looking calm. "I am sorry what happened the other day, I drank far too much."  
  
"Is that why you left? asked Thor, getting closer to Loki in bed until they were sitting in front of each other. Thor's knee touched Loki's in a casual way, as well as his hand was still debating if it should touch Loki again.   
  
"No, I didn't leave because of that. I am not as sensitive as you are" muttered Loki with a grin, looking Thor straight to the eye. "Something has been following me since I got the Tesseract. I don't know what it is exactly, not even Thanos had such an aura." Loki got comfortable in the bed, his voice serious and tense. "It is very dark magic, Thor." Loki's eyes very rarely showed that much uncertainty, but the blonde had never seen him that scared. "I thought I finally managed to lose him when I jumped into this timeline and arrived at your village... but then I felt him again. I thought I will lead it to you if I stayed." Loki talked in a low voice, his eyes not looking at his brother in the eye. "I thought that... you would go to space with those friends of yours, so I wouldn't need to worry about you."  
  
Thor remained silent, trying to mentally picture what kind of being was chasing Loki. What could have scared his brother that much, that he would run away and risk his body by using magic like that? He sighed, relieved. At least he knew that Loki was not angry with him. He could fight against any enemy that tried to put a finger on him, but he wasn't sure how to deal with Loki's wrath. Some of the tension from his shoulders was released, but he needed to fix things. He cleared his throat.  
  
"You are a fool, Loki. Have I ever told you? Because you really are." Thor got closer, covering the trickster with his big arms in the bear hug that he had needed during so many weeks. He brought him close to his chest, leaning his forehead in Loki's shoulder. "Did you honestly thought that it would be better to just run from timeline to timeline? What if that thing got you?" Thor gritted at the thought, separating himself abruptly from Loki, grabbing his face between his hands. "I can't let anything happen to you, I..."  
  
Loki's eyes showed his shock for Thor's words, and his hands slowly rose to grab the blonde's forearms. "And what if my presence here is what gets you killed this time? Did you ever think of that? Time travel can be very risky, I can't... Thor, I can't be responsible for your death, as ironic as this sounds." Loki's eyes started to shine because of the moisture that accumulated in them, and his hands grabbed Thor arms as if he was afraid to fall.   
  
"Loki, we are not going to commit the same mistakes," Thor whispered, whilst one of his fingers gently caressed the trickster's cheeks, wiping an impertinent tear that had started to fall. "I can't lose you again, and this time I am going to do things right." His words were so sweet that Loki was starting to wonder if that man in front of him was still the brutish and idiot Thor that he thought he hated in the past. It was at that moment when he realized how much the other had grown, and that thought made his heart shrink with pain. For just a moment, a tiny hope had shone inside, something that he desired and that he knew well that he would never have. At least, he knew that he would never have it after all his actions all those years.   
  
That's why, when Thor joined their lips together firmly, Loki thought that he was falling. His arms, static at the beginning because of the shock, reached slowly until they surrounded Thor's neck, hugging him, scared that this could end at any moment. Thor closed his eyes and focused on savoring those lips, so surprisingly soft. He caressed the black hair strands that fell at each side of Loki's face, accommodating the hair behind his ears to have full access to that pliant mouth. It was driving him insane. How could he had been so blind to his desires? At that moment, Thor knew that they should have done that many years ago, as this was the true form of their feelings, and finally it seemed that they were able to express them.   
  
"Will you come with me? Loki... "Thor muttered against Loki's lips, kissing them again. He liked calling his brother's name, he liked to hear the sound of it in his mouth. "Please? Will you come?" he pleaded. Thor was perfectly aware that Fury might not have maintained his promise of giving them some privacy, but at the same time, he couldn't care less. If they wanted to watch them, by all means, they could. He was far too occupied exploring what was happening between them.  
  
"Yes. Yes, I will come with you" Loki answered urgently, tightening his grip around Thor's neck. Even though the lack of air had made them break the kiss, it didn't take Loki long to join their mouths together again. He moved his lips slowly against Thor's, the strength in each of his actions showing the desperation he felt inside.   
  
"I am not letting you go ever again." Panted Thor, separating his mouth to firmly wrap his arms around Loki, noticing how his thin body shivered because of the contact. "I am so sorry, Loki."  
  
"Why are you even apologizing?" asked Loki with a weak voice, his hands clinging to Thor's body whilst he sank his face in his shoulder, fully melting into those big arms.  
  
"Had I realized before, we might not lose so much time," said Thor with a certain sadness, caressing Loki's cheek and cleaning the few stray tears that were still framing his angular face. He ignored though, the own humidity that was starting to form in his eye. "I am so sorry," he repeated, the guilt of all those years hanging in his chest.  
  
"Stop it." shut him off Loki, sinking his face even more in the embrace. When he saw that Thor was starting to cry, he just leaned closer and kissed his mouth softly, bringing their foreheads together afterward. "We are a pair of idiots." Loki didn't want to think of the past, the future, death, the creature that chased him... he wanted to enjoy that moment as much as he was able. Nothing else mattered to him.     
  
"We are," stated Thor, chuckling with a broken voice. "But I think it is not too late to improve that." The blonde let his body relax in that warmth, enjoying the feeling of life, of love against him with his eyes closed.  
  
"You are always going to be an oaf." Loki let out a sigh, finally recovering his composure. He moved in the embrace, not breaking it but getting comfortable, letting his body relax as well.  
  
"Well, I know that. That's why I need you by my side, to be a bit less of an idiot." Thor's normal smile came back to his lips, illuminating his face. Loki's opened his mouth slightly, immediately mesmerized by that ocean that was Thor's eye. Even if there was only one left. Slowly, oh so slowly, a shy smile appeared on his lips, and Thor swore that he had never seen anything so beautiful. Loki shook his head slightly.  
  
"You are a lost cause." the trickster said, closing his eyes and leaning even more into his brother's arms.   
  
"Aye" answered Thor, letting the trickster get comfortable against him. "Do you think you will be able to travel at sunrise?"  
  
"I wish I had them right now, I don't want to stay here" groaned Loki, finally breaking the embrace to sit next to his brother, both leaning their backs against the wall. After he was positioned, Thor passed one of his big arms around his shoulders, too avid for Loki's warmth to give it up so early. Loki played with Thor's hand between his, looking at it with a slight frown. "We need to be alert, I don't know what that thing is capable of," he whispered, apprehension clear in his voice whilst he interlaced his fingers with Thor's, turning his face to look at him in the eye.   
  
"We will be alert and ready, Loki. I told you, I won't let anything happen to you, I am going to protect you this time," he said, kissing the tip of his nose and bringing him a bit closer.   
  
"You know that I don't need you to protect me." scoffed Loki, rolling his eyes by how insufferable was for him the extreme optimism of Thor's. "I forgot how disgustingly positive you can be. But I suppose that it is not a bad thing now and then." He made a small grin and let his head fall on the other's shoulder.   
  
"You should rest, Loki. We will be going at sunrise." Thor kissed Loki's head softly, gently squeezing his shoulders. As soon as they became silent, Thor's mind started thinking about that presence that seemed to haunt them. Thor had never been good at feeling presences or energies since he was barely a magician like Loki. But he was quizzed by the dream he had the previous night, reminding him of his premonitions before the Rägnarok came to Asgard.   
  
_"I will hunt you, God of Thunder. And I will take everything that you hold dear, as I was robbed from everything that I cared about."_  
  
Those words weren't a good omen, and Thor knew that something dangerous was coming. But Loki was once again at his side, and for now, they needed to recover and have some rest. No matter what was following them, they would lead with it in the morning. Together.

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phrew. I am so sorry for the delay. Life's been a bit intense, and after finishing this little monster of a chapter, I think I know how it feels to give birth. Anyway, I hope everyone is in the mood for some smut. I will give a second proofreading at some point, so if there is any mistake, sorry about it! Hope you all enjoy reading it, please leave a comment if you have the time, I really appreciate all of them :)

The daylight surprised Thor, appearing before of what he expected. The room when he arrived was almost pitch black apart from some weak sunrise shafts, but now it was completely illuminated with the warm light of a sunny morning. At some point during those hours, Loki had slid down until laying down on Thor's lap, and now he was sound asleep on it, exhausted from the chase and the usage of seidr. Thor had barely closed his eyes in that time, too occupied caressing Loki's face and hair with delicate touches. He had finally found him, and after all those problematic years of conflict, they finally had the sort of cathartic moment that they needed. A small smile appeared in the face of the blonde when he remembered how strongly Loki had kissed him and grabbed him, almost as if he was too afraid of letting him go. He leaned down and brought his lips to his brother's temple, giving him a soft kiss, trying to not disturb his sleep. Even though he would have preferred to leave SHIELD's base as soon as possible, he also knew how tired Loki was, so he had decided to let him rest some more while they could. But despite his best intentions, the kiss made Loki's eyelids flutter slightly, opening mere seconds later.  
  
"What time is it?" asked Loki with a raspy voice, rubbing one of his eyes slowly.  
  
"I'm sorry I woke you, I didn't mean to," whispered Thor, stroking Loki's arm carefully. "It is not noon yet, don't worry. Although I think we should move soon."  
  
"I suppose you're right." Loki got up from Thor's lap, slightly embarrassed to have fallen asleep so easily on it. He still needed some time to process what happened the night before between them, and what that meant. Now that their emotions had cooled down, Loki wondered where these feelings would take them.   
  
"Did you manage to rest?" asked Thor, taking one of his hands to Loki's cheek with a face that showed his worry.   
  
"I... I slept, yeah," muttered the trickster with a blush, not being used to those intimate gestures with Thor. It seemed that certain barriers that kept them separated for years had finally broken down, and once that happened, Thor's affection was just radiating towards Loki; he wanted to have him close, to touch him, to make sure that he was ok. Loki swallowed before speaking, stammering, "Thor... I..."  
  
Thor's lip curled up into a smile, getting close to press a soft kiss to Loki's lips. He wanted to make him understand that last night was neither a dream nor a fit driven by Loki's disappearance. He thought long and hard during those weeks about his feelings, and he concluded that there might have always been something more than brotherly love between them, a nameless latent bond that was just waiting to be awakened. It was not going to be easy, and they needed to be careful. There were still many things that they needed to speak about, things they had ignored during all those years... but there would be time for that. Now they had enough on their plates.  
  
Loki corresponded to the kiss, although his eyes reflected certain uncertainty, certain doubt. It looked like he still wasn't brave enough to give the first step if it was not out of impulse, but Thor was ok with that. Loki had always been shyer than him anyway. He used his free hand to hold Loki's other cheek, cupping his face between his big hands.  
  
  
"Don't worry," he whispered, giving a small flick to his forehead before he continued talking, ignoring the frown on Loki’s face. "We'll figure this out. I have been thinking quite a lot these weeks."   
  
"Well, that's new. I see you have been training as well." Loki spoke under his breath, looking at Thor from head to toe, realizing that his figure was almost identical to the one he used to have years ago. He bit his lip and, very slowly, he rose his hand to cup Thor's face. "Thor... are you really sure about this? Once we cross a certain line, that will be it... I won't be able to see you as my brother anymore." " _Nor will I ever have a whole heart ever again if you regret this..._ " Loki trembled at the thought, feeling sick from just the thought.   
  
"Loki, I wouldn't have done this if I wasn't sure," said Thor, almost as if he could read his brother's mind. "For now, just try to hold tight while we travel with Mjölnir."  
  
"Well, don't blame me for not trusting your impulses, you moron" snorted Loki, but his gaze softened when he saw Thor's smile. "Do you have a plan by any chance?"  
  
"For now, let's head back to Asgardia. You will be able to recover your seidr and we will have Valkyrie with us in case that presence decides to follow us." Thor scratched his chin for a second, but because Loki was already going to answer him back, he silenced his mouth with a quick loud kiss on the lips. "It is decided. I know you are worried about leading that thing to us, and I also know you think that I can't plan, but this is our best course of action. Please, trust me."  
  
Loki stood there for a second, looking at Thor's eyes with a frown, not liking the fact that Thor had used a dirty trick to make him silent, but he finally let out a deep breath and accepted, "Ok, fine, we will do what you suggested. But help me Norns if we die for this. You won't hear the end of it in Valhalla.   
  
"I will take that risk," Thor muttered, amused by his brother's attitude. He finally got up from the bed and stretched, as his body felt quite stiff from holding the same posture for hours.  
  
Loki imitated Thor immediately, fixing with clothes with several pats on the wrinkles. When he tried to use his magic, some sparks of seidr came out of his fingers, but nothing else. He groaned, visibly annoyed. That meant that it would be a few hours until he would be completely recovered from the Tesseract use.  
  
They both walked towards the exit of the building, not being able to talk to Fury as he had to go for an urgent matter hours before.   
  
The man had left instructions to his soldiers, though, to let the two brothers go whenever they were ready. Once they were outside, Thor protected his eyes from the sun with one hand, as it was already quite high in the sky. Loki walked in silence next to him, totally immersed in his thoughts. But that state was interrupted once he felt the arm of Thor firmly surrounding his hip.  
  
"Are you ready? It's going to be a long journey," said the blonde with a grin on his face, using his grip on the trickster to bring him closer to his chest.  
  
"Don't you dare to drop me or doing any of your moronic jests," growled Loki, passing his arms around Thor's middle to give himself some stability before he started flying. It would not have been the first time that Thor pretended to let him go to let grab him mid-air again.  
  
But even if Loki was not being completely serious about it, Thor's smile immediately vanished from his face when he heard that, "Never..." he tightened his grip around Loki. "I won't let go, Loki."  
  
Loki sighed at his words, knowing that he had committed a mistake with his comment. He observed the suddenly somber face of his brother, possibly remembering one of their past incidents. They needed to talk things over and leave the past in the past once and for all. Only like that, they would be able to go on. The trickster patted Thor's chest softly, looking at him. "Ok, shall we? I don't want to be near these mortals more than the strictly necessary."  
  
"Yes... yes, of course. Let's go." Thor grabbed him firmly, and without another word, he started flying.   
  
\---------------  
  
  
They landed right behind Thor's house, the sky already dark in that part of the globe. They were both completely soaked from the trip, condensation of clouds and light rain had taken its toll on them. Thor grabbed Loki's hand and guided him to the back door, opening and entering the dark interior afterwards. After hanging Mjölnir next to Stormbreaker and pressing some switches, the house got lit with welcoming warm light. Loki crossed his arms for a moment, advancing in the space until leaning against one of the tables that were on a corner of the living room.   
  
"I'm going to need more clothes... and possibly a towel, please," he asked casually. He felt his magic starting to regenerate slowly, but he was starting to worry how much the Tesseract could alter his seidr. Even though he had only used it three times, Loki knew that if he used that power more, he could end up frying his magic cores, or worst, he could end up completely consumed by the gem.   
  
He observed Thor moving fast around the house, opening one of the wardrobes to get a couple of towels. He offered one to Loki with a smirk, "Here, dry yourself. I'm sorry for this, but I doubt you would have liked sharing a helicopter with SHIELD soldiers."  
  
Loki started drying his hair with the towel with an annoying huff, mussing his hair even more. Afterwards, he tried to comb it with his hands to make it look like always, unsuccessfully. "Shut it," he groaned, looking at the amused expression on his brother's face. "I have to say, I almost wished you still got that chariot with goats."  
  
"It was handy, I am not going to deny that," smiled Thor, handing Loki a dry t-shirt. The trickster got rid quickly of the drenched top he was wearing, leaving his pale chest uncovered. Any major thought that was in Thor's head went away the moment that Loki was half-naked. Even though Loki wasn't as muscular as Thor, he had a good build torso, more athletic and fibrous after spending as many sparring hours as his brother.  
  
Thor would be lying if he said that he had never laid with a man. In his youth, as it was expected, the blond had experimented with both male and female lovers, and yet he had never been as excited and terrified at the same time of the vision he had in front of him. Loki's skin was white as marble, smooth as silk. Thor gulped at the vision, and then he started to realize something. Across Loki's skin, one could see pale scars crossing all over his back and part of his shoulders, small lines that looked old enough to be healed but not so much to disappear. He approached the younger god, touching one of the scars delicately, "Loki, when...?"  
  
Loki's eyes raised until meeting Thors, letting a deep breath out with a smirk in an attempt to wash off the importance and pain that the torture meant for him, as well as the rage that he could see creeping in his brother's eye. "Thanos. Before I offered to lead his army to Midgard, he had to discover who I was, and his way of dealing with prisoners is not... delicate." A shiver went through Loki's spine when Thor kept touching and tracing the scar on his shoulder with his finger.  
  
"Loki..." Thor couldn’t stop staring at those wounds in his body, whilst his fingers kept caressing his brother's silky skin. His eyes met again Loki's, who was staring at him with the same intensity. Thor opened his mouth to say something, but he ended up not saying a thing. Instead, his body moved on its own and trapped Loki's lips in a heated kiss, much deeper than any other they had shared before. The big arms of the blond went around the thin frame of the trickster, bringing him closer to his body while Loki looped his arms around his neck. At that moment, they both finally felt that any remaining barrier between them had been broken down, and the only thing that was left was raw emotion. Thor's lips avidly moved over Loki's, nibbling at the asking mouth, his hands occupied caressing his black hair and the back of his neck.   
  
"We should... Thor... we should be..." started Loki over Thor’s mouth, a small laugh leaving his lips while he tried to speak between the kisses that Thor was giving him in a demanding way. "We should be planning..."  
  
"Later," grumbled the blond in a deep voice. He frowned in concentration when his lips travelled to Loki’s neck, starting to explore it with more kisses.   
  
Loki whined, his hands going down the back of his brother. Thor's tongue, avid of more contact, entered his mouth, savouring it, making Loki's legs to tremble. He closed his eyes and drew Thor closer to him, wanting to feel every centimetre of his skin against his own.  
  
  
Thor smirked when he noticed Loki’s body completely against his, walking his hands on his size before grabbing him by his lower part of his thighs, making him rise on his toes in order to keep the contact. This feels good, thought Thor, at the same time warmth began spreading through his body. He could feel Loki’s member growing hard against his thigh, making him grow impatience and started grinding against him. Loki stifled a cry in Thor’s mouth, biting his lip on the process. 

Not giving him a moment to rest, Thor started moving without letting go of Loki. The tricksters’ hands kept caressing his back in slow motion, enjoying every muscle while he walked backwards in the direction of Thor’s bedroom.  
  
Thor closed the door with a fast kick, his hands too busy caressing his brother’s cheeks, his lips slowly leaving his mouth to leave him breath. He stood for a moment, just looking at him, before push one of his bare shoulders so he would lie down. Without breaking eye contact, the older god took off his own t-shirt and let it drop to one of the sides of the bed. He could feel his own will slowly coming back to him, and he knew that was in part because of the man that was splayed in his bed in front of him, his green eyes following each of his movements. Thor finally started to feel like himself, both in body and mind. There was no more room for sorrow, now he had finally reached a point in which he could be happy again. He had recovered part of his family, maybe the most important part of it. Perhaps he always knew, perhaps that was what brought them together in the first place.   
  
Loki’s breath got faster once Thor lost his upper garment, but he licked his lips and smirked. “I have to say that I am not disappointed,” he whispered.  
  
Thor smiled gently, almost shyly. It had been a while since someone had seen him like that because of his previous physical and psychological state. But now he was proud. He managed to rise above all that and slowly make his way to his old self. And that felt just right, especially to share it with Loki.   
  
“I trained a bit. Didn’t want to be told off again,” he said, taking advantage to crawl in bed on top of Loki to kiss him fast, his hips pressing against the trickster’s and his hands slowly exploring his torso, grabbing one of his nipples to squeeze it gently.   
  
Loki moaned and looped his arms around Thor’s neck, as well as his legs around his waist to trap him in a passionate link. The blond let himself be dragged, too busy tangling his hand in Loki’s hair to care. The trickster bit down a moan when Thor ground his hips against his, and Thor smiled. He had never doubted his love for Loki. If anything, that was one of the only certainties of his life.   
  
“Loki…” Thor moaned, pressing their foreheads together in an intimate gesture.   
  
Loki didn’t reply. Instead, his hips started moving impatiently against Thor’s, an annoyed moan leaving his lips.  
  
“So impatient…” Thor slid his hand to the hem of Loki’s trousers, tugging slowly.  
  
“That would be normally you…” Loki replied back, his forehead slightly sweaty. “Do you know how many times I imagined this?”  
  
“I do not know,” admitted Thor, his gaze focusing on the other god. “But I don’t want you to imagine it anymore. I want you to feel it, I want us to feel this together, Loki.”  
  
Loki’s eyes widened when he heard those words, starting to feel a great urge to cry. Without being able to hold it back, a small rebel crossed his cheek while he spoke with a broken voice.   
“After everything… can I ask you to stay with me?” he sobbed, his face showing a painful vulnerability.  
  
“Always,” muttered Thor. He kissed Loki’s forehead, lingering for a moment before brushing kisses against his mouth, his cheek, his chin. Thor didn’t have anything else to say, he just wanted to show how big that feeling was. He would always be by his side, and he would always want him by his side. He ran his thumb over Loki’s lower lip, his eyes completely fixated on him. "By the Norns, you are so beautiful" whispered, claiming yet again the mouth of the trickster.  
  
“Thor…” Loki playfully bit the thumb in his mouth, raising his hips to make Thor understand what he so urgently needed.   
  
Thor smirked, breaking the contact to take off his pants. He fought with them for a second before he was able to remove them, leaving his brother completely naked on the bed. At that moment, Thor became paralyzed by seeing him like that for the first time, his eyes going over Loki’s body, his pupils dilating in lust. Loki noticed Thor's intense gaze, dragging him against his body in order to break that eye contact.   
  
"Wait, let me see you... please let me see you" begged Thor, too mesmerized by the ocean of white skin before him. Loki was breath-taking, and he promised himself that he would never let another person seen him like this ever again. He planned on claiming him for himself only.  
  
"Thor I..." Loki’s erection raised in front of him, a small blush tainting his cheeks. The trickster had never felt so exposed, and it had never meant so much for him to do it. That meant the world for him.  
  
"Oh, Loki…” Without another word, Thor came down hard on the other man, claiming his lips while one of his hands went straight to caress Loki’s member, rubbing it in a controlled slowness.   
  
Loki moaned, rocking his hips against Thor’s hand in order to find more of that pleasure. He grabbed the blonde’s neck to put him down for a sloppy kiss, letting his tongue mercilessly attack the others’ with desperation.   
  
The pressure in his own jeans made Thor break the kiss momentarily to remove them, letting them drop with the rest of the clothes. With an intense look consumed by lust, he topped Loki, grabbing his cock without any modesty to start milking it slowly again, his eyes never parting from his. Loki’s legs spread, his hands slowly dancing until they gripped Thor’s broad shoulders, feeling the heat in his lower belly almost painfully growing.   
  
“You’re so beautiful…” whispered Thor, taking two fingers to his own mouth.   
  
Loki turned his face when he heard the compliment, trying to ignore it by moaning again. Thor's rhythm was driving him insane, needing more of what he was giving him purposely. Thor noticed his brother’s eagerness, and he finally took his fingers to his heat, drawing slow circles around his entrance before he probed one against it. Loki was tight, but it didn’t take long for the blonde to feel confident enough to introduce a second one, biting his lip when he felt the pulsating warmth of Loki. The trickster immediately pushed his body against Thor’s hand, asking for more in a silent way. Thor panted, the actions of his brother triggering a straight line into his crotch. He devoured Loki’s mouth, introducing a third finger.   
  
“Thor… I need…” Loki whimpered against his ear, his arms tightening in his shoulders.   
  
“I know, but I don’t want to hurt you,” said Thor softly, scissoring the trickster’s hole while laying kisses on his neck.   
  
“Thor,” hissed Loki, biting the blonde’s ear, “I am not a blushing virgin. I am more than ready.”  
  
The blonde looked at him in the eye, but he finally sighed, taking away his fingers carefully.   
  
That was the moment of truth. Thor took both of his hands to Loki’s thighs, spreading his legs. Loki looked at his brother with a blush and a frown, internally debating whether he should kick Thor or not for not being fast enough. The blonde leaned on him, accommodating Loki’s legs on top of his thighs. He took his already rock hard member, aligning it with the other’s entrance. He started pushing inside him with a gasp, noticing how his cock was slowly penetrating him easily. Thor was big, he knew that much. He didn’t want to rush it and hurt Loki in the process, but his own desire was slowly taking away any sanity he had left at that moment.   
  
“Finally…” whispered Loki, his eyes closed. Thor didn’t miss the gesture in his lover’s face, touched by something that he just hoped wasn’t pain.   
  
“We lost so much time…” Thor whispered, placing soft kisses to every inch of skin that he had in front of him. Lust was starting to overcome him, and his hips demanded to start moving in and out of the man he had underneath him.   
  
Loki started to move with him, his eyes still closed while he buried his face in Thor’s neck, biting it. Thor growled and started thrusting against Loki in a maddened rhythm, pressing him against the sheets.   
  
“We did,” Loki breathed while he tried to keep up to his brother’s movement, pleasure starting to rise in his lower belly. “But I told… you…” he dug his nails in his back, leaning his sweaty forehead in Thor’s shoulder. “I am not committing the same mistakes.”  
  
“Neither will I,” Thor stated before starting to thrust into the trickster without any restraint left. He grunted in his ear, his body sweating from the heat and the effort. Loki’s eyes were closed, and his moans were load. He wrapped his legs around Thor, biting his lip hard when the blonde hit his prostate, making him blind with pleasure for a second.   
  
Both of them succumbed in a dance of frantic movements and passionate kisses, trying to prolong it as far as they could. Thor’s body moved strongly against Loki’s, his own desire urging him to thrust even faster. His grunts started to sound louder, being able to almost compete with Loki’s high moans. Thor took one of his hands off of Loki’s hip to start jerking his cock at the same speed as his thrust.  
  
It was beautiful.  
  
Thor was able to see Loki completely open, surrendered to the pleasure he was giving him. At that moment, Thor promised himself to never forget that moment. No matter what happened, that was one of those moments in life in which you are aware of the breakthrough.   
  
“Loki…” he whispered, his hand and hips never stopping. “I love you.”  
  
It was clear and simple. Loki looked into his eyes almost in a panic, his mouth half opened in pleasure. He held to Thor’s neck for dear life, and with a last loud moan, he came between their stomachs, his insides tightening, shaking in his lover’s arms. Thor grunted, his cock painfully hard inside Loki. With few shoves more, he followed the trickster with a roar and released inside, pushing his hips to empty himself deep.  
  
Once the tension was released, Thor collapsed partially on Loki, panting hard, joining their foreheads together after a minute. Loki lied underneath his massive brother, his legs still wrapped around him and his heart beating like a drum. Had Thor said…? He raised a hand and tangled his fingers in the blonde short hair.   
  
“You said you love me,” he said slowly, “you said…”  
  
“Loki,” Thor cut him off, “I might get angry, I might be a brute sometimes, I might not have figured out everything yet… but never doubt that I love you.”  
  
Loki’s eyes closed, exhaustion showing in his face. He winced, almost as if those words both hurt him and relieved him at the same time. He licked his lip before talking, that contradiction haunting him. “Sentiment,” he muttered, but then he gave Thor such a beautiful sincere smiled that almost hurt. How many years had been since he saw Loki smiled like that…?   
  
“I am.” Thor kissed his forehead sweetly, slowly coming out of him with a slow movement. Loki laid next to him, looking at him for a moment before rolling to his side, letting his head drop in his brother’s chest. He closed his eyes and sighed, his hand caressing Thor’s chest slowly.   
  
“I love you too,” he breathed against Thor, not raising his eyes from it. “I do.”  
  
And nothing else mattered.   
  
\------------  
  
  
They found themselves laying in Thor's bed after they recovered the breath, both naked and covered only by the thin-bed sheets that were there before. Thor had his back leaning against the headboard, and Loki was resting between his legs with his back against the blonde’s chest, his hands toying with their intertwined fingers. Thor just laid there, letting Loki play with his fingers while he pressed some distracted kisses against his head. Every now and then, one of those kisses would focus on the scars left by Thanos in his brother's shoulders, as if they could be erased like that. After their coupling, all the tension between them had finally vanished, and now they lay in a comfortable silence until Thor finally started talking.   
  
"I should kill him again," he growled, making Loki blink and turn around with a questioning look. "Thanos. I should kill him for daring to touch you."  
  
"It wasn't that bad, Thor, and he got what he deserved," Loki showed a small smile that brightened his face, giving the blonde’s hands a small squeeze.  
  
"Still, he touched you." Thor looked like a small child, almost a pout showing on his face whilst his grip on Loki tightened slightly.   
  
Loki laughed, reaching with his face to kiss Thor on the cheek. "Don't worry that much about him, he's dead and he's not coming back, oaf," he laughed, poking Thor’s nose with one of his fingers.  
  
Saying nothing to Loki's words, Thor just kissed the scar on his shoulder again. Loki didn't say anything else, completely engrossed and comfortable at that moment they were sharing, the smile still adorning his lips. After a moment, Thor let a doubt that was in the back of his head leave his lips.  
  
"Loki... can I… can I ask you something?” he started, biting his lip. After those weeks and the dream he had, there was something he needed to know.  
  
  
Loki turned in his arms again with a raised eyebrow when he heard the sudden question from Thor, “Sure?” he said quietly.  
  
“When did you start... feeling like this?" Thor asked finally, his arms tightening around his lover, "I mean, feeling like this for me." He immediately regretted asking, as he must really look like an idiot at that moment. But he needed to know, at least to start understanding his new lover in a better manner. It was high time for them to start talking about things.   
  
Loki studied him for a second before returning to his task of playing with Thor's hands. After what looked like centuries, he started talking, "I suppose that at the end of my teen years. At least, that's when I realized it. It wasn't an easy thing to accept, and I spent far too many years trying to hide those... thoughts." Loki's expression didn't change when he talked, but the small pause that he made was enough for Thor to know how difficult it must have been to admit something like that.  
  
The blonde, surprised, opened slightly his mouth before speaking. "Why did you never say anything?" he almost stammered. He couldn't believe that in the millennia they had shared, Loki was able to keep that to himself.   
  
Judging by Loki's expression, it was clear that Thor had just uttered a very stupid question, but he decided to humour him for once nonetheless, "Well, I always thought that admitting that I wanted to fuck you would make you feel uncomfortable,” he said, matter-of-factly, “but Hel, look at this, fate proved me quite wrong on this one."  
  
"I suppose you are right, that was silly of me," Thor admitted with a soft low laugh coming out of his lips, a small blush on his face. He had to admit, that sometimes he should think a bit more before talking. But the blonde wanted to really understand his brother, he really wanted to know everything that he had missed… he wanted that unnamed thing between them to work, and to know why it felt so right.  
  
"Maybe it should be me the one to make that question," continued Loki, stopping for a second to look at Thor from behind his shoulder. "When did you decide that this is a good idea?"  
  
Thor leaned his head against the headboard whilst he tried to answer in a clear way, not wanting to hurt Loki as he had done weeks ago. It was generally a good question as well since the blond had yet to figure out many things, but he didn't want to look as if he didn't want what just happened. The time they spent separated had been extremely emotional, and the bundle of emotions of losing and recovering Loki again had made him decide between not letting go of him ever again. At least, he knew that was what he wanted. He needed him by his side, he needed him to save what little was left of his sanity. He took a deep breath and started talking.  
  
"In a way, I think it was always there for me, even if I didn't realize before." He said, calm, looking at their joined hands. "I thought fate was somehow joining us, that we would be side by side forever, and once I was king, you would be my adviser. It was a naive thought, I know."  
  
"If by all that you mean again what mother used to say about "being part of something bigger", I really doubt she had in mind us sharing the bed, Thor."  
  
"Mother had the gift of prophecy, Loki. We will never know what she knew or what she thought. Not that it matters either, we will just have to figure out what we want to do ourselves."  
  
"And what do we want to do with this?" asked Loki quietly, his eyes shining with something that Thor wanted to think it was uncertainty.  
  
"I just want to be with you," said the older god, the sincerity of his words making Loki's heart shiver and seek for more contact by getting even closer to him. "You can call me a simpleton, but I have not figured out anything else yet. I can only say what I feel right now, and I don't want to let you go ever again."  
  
"You are a simpleton," agreed the trickster, leaning against Thor's chest with a sigh, "but you are right. I don't want to bother thinking about what will happen from now on. Norns, I never thought this would ever happen in my wildest dreams, so I just want us to be... like this." Loki caressed his brother's chest and placed a soft kiss on it, "We also have other things to worry about. I can't feel the presence now, but...   
  
Loki left the sentence in the air, but Thor knew what he meant. The fact that he wasn't feeling the presence didn't mean that it had disappeared. Even if they managed to lose it thanks to the Tesseract jumps, if it had managed to follow Loki between realities, that meant that it would be a matter of time for it to reappear again.  
  
"We will start investigating tomorrow, I am sure Valkyrie will give us a hand." Loki huffed a bit at the thought, even though he didn't have a bad relationship with the woman, it was difficult for him not to complain about his brother's plans. "How is your seidr doing?" Thor asked, grabbing Loki's hand to place a soft kiss on it.  
  
"Almost recovered, although this time it took me longer." Loki intertwined his hand with Thor's, looking at him in the eye. "I have the impression that every time I use the Tesseract, it takes me more time to recover."  
  
"Then that means that you shouldn't keep using it. We need to find a safe place for it." Thor placed another kiss on his brother's hand, letting it go afterwards. "Right now, we will have to protect it ourselves, I don't think it will be safe in human hands, but then we could..."  
  
"Thor," Loki said sternly, looking at him in the eye. "Who said I am going to give it up?" Loki's body felt suddenly tense, and his tone was controlled, "I still have plans for the gem."  
  
"Loki..." started Thor, closing his eyes and frowning at his words. He felt a wave of anger starting inside, but he breathed deeply, trying not to jump into conclusions. He didn't want to distrust Loki, he really didn't, but he also didn't like those words.  
  
"It is not up for debate, the Tesseract is in my possession now and it will remain like this." Loki controlled very carefully his words and tone, trying to seem firm about his decision. He knew that Thor wouldn't like it, but the Tesseract was an essential part of his plan. He couldn't renounce to it now; it was too important. He knelt on the bed in front of Thor, still close to him. He grabbed both of his hands and held them between his, looking at him straight in the eyes, "Thor, please. I know it is difficult to trust me in this matter, but please... please trust me. There is something I have to... that I need to do."  
  
"And what is that you need to do exactly?" asked quietly Thor, straight and direct. His whole body tensed and alerted. Loki wouldn't... no, the blond didn't even want to think about his brother turning again into his old self. He came all the way to this timeline to fix his past mistakes after all. But deep inside, Thor knew that the Tesseract was Loki's weakness, and he was not keen on the idea of having to fight him again. Not after everything that happened.  
  
Loki was still holding his hands when he spoke softly, "If I told you... you will try to stop me."  
  
"And don't you think that that means that perhaps you shouldn't do whatever you want to do?"  
  
"Why are you the one deciding that?"  
  
"Loki..." sighed Thor, taking one of his hands from Loki's grasp to rub his face, slightly exasperated by his brother's attitude.   
  
"No, don't "Loki..." me. I am not invading a planet nor enslaving any race if that is what you are fearing." he said in a cold voice, clearly offended by Thor. He got up from the bed and conjured his clothes with a wave of his hand, walking towards the window of the room and showing his back to the other god. "I told you, I am not committing the same mistakes. Do you even listen to what I say?"  
  
"I just... Loki, I just don't understand your obsession with that gem," said Thor with a frustrated groan, getting up and putting his pants in the way. At that moment, he really envied the ability of Loki of being able to get dressed with his magic. He approached his brother until he was behind him, but not daring to touch him yet. "What the hell do you need it for? It is just a source of problems, in case you don't remember." Thor's voice went a bit louder of what he intended, his frustration and exasperation coming through it.  
  
"What if that thing appears and we can't do anything," Loki turned around, his eyes shining with pure wrath while he spoke, "I am not risking another Hela or another Thanos. What if next time it is not me who they kill but you...!" Loki closed his eyes and swallowed hard, closing the space until he could put his hands on Thor's chest, leaning his forehead against his shoulder while trying to control all the fear he was feeling. "I will not let that thing get near us, I will take us to a safe place. So please... please understand." his voice sounded tired, scared. Thor had never heard his brother like that, so whatever was chasing him must have really freaked the trickster out. Loki closed his hands into a fist, his voice coming out broken, "Please, Thor." He begged again. And Loki never begged.   
  
The blond was paralysed by Loki's attitude and words. He immediately enclosed his arms around him, bringing him as close as possible to him. He hadn't realized how scared Loki was, and he felt responsible for that. Whereas Thor had seen him died several times, his brother had never had the fear of actually losing Thor. It pained the eldest god to see him in such a state. Loki was proud, sarcastic and strong, seeing him in such a vulnerable state in which he was begging him just made his heart break.   
  
"It's ok, Loki. As long as you stay by me," Thor whispered, kissing his brother's temple before putting a finger under his chin, kissing his lips and making him open those green orbs that Thor was learning to love more than anything in the world. He smiled at him sweetly, wanting to reassure him, "Nobody is dying this time, I will not let it happen." Thor meant every word. No more death, no more mourning, no more suffering. This time, they would do things right. He held Loki close, whispering soothing words in his ear.   
  
Loki huffed, getting closer to Thor, trying to hug him even harder. He couldn't bear the thought of losing him now, not that they are finally in this madness that he started. He needed to make sure that that thing stayed away from him. He would cross the galaxy with him if necessary, it would not touch him. "Over my dead body," Loki thought, closing his eyes for a moment while he muttered, "Once I know... that we are both save, and everything has been solved... I will give you the Tesseract to do whatever you want with it. Until then, I will keep it in my custody. You can watch me as well if that makes you feel better."  
  
"Right. I hope you won't regret your words," Thor joked, trying to lighten the mood. He grabbed Loki's chin and pressed a soft kiss on his somehow pouting lips. "Let's go back to bed, can't wait to sleep in a comfortable place."  
  
"Oh..." Loki started, a smirk appearing in his mouth. "Who said we are sleeping yet?"


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all! Thank you so much for reading. Here is another chapter of the story. I feel this is going to be a long fic at the end, I have multitude of ideas, but for now here is some more smut and fluff! Next chapters the good drama will start, and hopefully some exciting-dark things :D
> 
> Thank you very much for all the comments and kudos I have been receiving, it makes me really happy to see that the story is being enjoyed!

Loki was the first one to wake up that morning, curled up in his brother's arms. His eyes opened slowly, the dimmed light that came out of the window was enough to wake him. It was not unusual for Loki to be the first up, he had been an early riser most of his life, even as a child. He turned in bed, laying on his side and trying not to wake Thor, which was sound asleep, his arms hugging him protectively. Loki winced slightly when he moved, slightly sore from the previous night. He pulled up the covers to look at his now marked body, still covered with the leftover fluids from their coupling. Thor had him twice after they finished talking, and only after they both had surrendered to sleep, completely spent.  
  
He covered himself again and stayed for a moment without moving, just looking at the blonde's face. He reached for it with a hand, caressing his cheek slowly, enjoying the raspy touch of his beard. His eyes followed the hard line of his jaw, his chin, his lips...  
  
“I’ve spent so much time wanting this, that now that I have you, I don’t know what to do,” he whispered, getting close enough to kiss those lips, his hand traveling until reaching his blonde hair. _“He is too good for me, and yet here I am, dragging him into this madness…_ ” he thought to himself, stroking Thor’s hair slowly, “ _But… maybe this time I can do things right_ ,” he nudged against Thor’s frame, trying to soak in the blonde’s natural warmth, " _because I want to make them right for you._ "  
  
He had hoped for this as far as he could remember ever wanting to be with another person. Thor had always been everything that he wasn’t, and yet he had decided to love him despite everything. Even in his darkest moments, even when it seemed that there was nothing left for Loki apart from resentment and hatred, he still loved Thor. That feeling never faded away, no matter how much he tried to shove it deep down in his heart. That had enraged him at the time. Loki wasn't an easy person to love, nor someone that knew how to love. And yet, he wanted so hard to try for him. It was not going to be easy to change their dynamics, he knew that. After all, they had spent millennia together as brothers, as well as some long years as enemies. Now they had to adapt to this new life that they were starting, wherever it took them.  
  
Loki remembered the vision that he saw thanks to the Tesseract about his own death, but the temptation of seeing it from his brother's perspective was too big for his curious self. Knowing about Thor's deep sleep, he carefully put his hand on his lover's forehead, concentrating his magic. He closed his eyes and there it was...  
  
" _I assure you brother, that the sun will shine on us again._ "  
  
Did his future self expect something like this to happen? Did he trust Thor to fix it?  
  
" _Odinson._ "  
  
Something sank in Loki's heart when he heard himself proclaim proudly his name. He really hoped that one day he would be able to claim it so easily in the same manner. Thor moved uncomfortably and moaned under his hand, his brow furrowing in his sleep, but Loki was far too concentrated in the memory to notice.  
  
"Loki, no..." he muttered, a small tear running through his face.  
  
" _You will... never be... a god..._ "  
  
He winced when he heard the snap of his own neck.  
  
" _No resurrections this time_."  
  
Loki still had his eyes closed, breathing deeply through his nose. A moment later, Thor sat down in bed abruptly, breathing heavily with his eyes opened in shock.  
  
"Thor?" Loki asked tentatively, open his eyes and raised to sit in bed next to him, a hand going to his brother's shoulder in an attempt to calm him down. "Sorry, it was possibly my magic that gave you the nightmare..."  
  
"What...?" the blonde asked, confused, looking around. He realized that he was crying, so he wiped his tears with a fast movement, his cheeks turning slightly pink. "What were you doing...?"  
  
"I am sorry," Loki apologized again, "when I said that the Tesseract showed me everything... well, I wasn't accurate. It didn't show me the whole thing, just glimpses... I wanted to know what I did in my final moments. My magic must have messed up with your dream."  
  
Thor's eye went misty, a pained expression showing on his face at the memory. He passed a hand over his hair, his heart slowly calming down after the abrupt awakening. "I could have told you myself, had you asked. No need to meddle with magic," he grunted.  
  
"I suppose you are right. But you know, open communication has never been our family's forte." Loki shrugged, taking his hand away from Thor's shoulder.  
  
"I think that might have been our problem all along," Thor yawned, "Also, that is exactly what you said when I tried to talk to you in Sakaar."  
  
"Did I?" Loki asked, raising a brow and crossing his arms, "what else happened?"  
  
"We had just... started to get along again. Like when we were young." Thor's hands tightened in his lap, his teeth gritted. "After Sakaar. We were coming back to Earth, even though you were skeptical about it. I told you...," Thor sighed, all his big frame clearly tensing. "I told you it would be ok. But it wasn't." Loki observed Thor in silence, not wanting to interrupt him when he was so willingly opening. "Of course it wasn't, because Thanos found us." The blond laughed bitterly, sniffing before continuing, "I let you die. Just to save my sorry life, I..."  
  
"Thor." Loki cut him off, suddenly serious. He took his hand between his own, giving it a small squeeze. "It was my decision. I am sure I would do it again if I had to. It is easier than the alternative," his smile was soft when he spoke, so soft that it made Thor's heartache with longing.  
  
"And yet, how I wish things would be different," He said sadly, taking his hand to Loki's cheek to briefly caress it.  
  
"Would you?" the trickster leaned into the touch, half closing his eyelids, "things happen for a reason."  
  
"But I should have protected you," replied Thor, stubbornly, "I don't even know how I am supposed to look at your face"  
  
"Oh, so it is what I am to you?! Loki raised his voice much more of what he had intended, but he could feel his heart breaking into pieces. "A reminder of your failure? A ghost of what it could have been?"  
  
"Loki..." Thor's eyes widened, his arms reaching in a panic until he buried the other man in them. "The fact that you are here is just a miracle. I just don't know how to forgive myself for what happened... but you... you are you. Don't doubt that."  
  
"I won't be the target of your pity, Thor," he hissed, his eyes starting to shine with proud fury. He tried to resist the embrace, pushing Thor's chest with his hands.  
  
"I saw you die three times!" Thor shouted suddenly, his arms firmly around the other man. He tightened the embrace, Loki's expression somehow blank, even though he could feel the almost crushing pressure in his body. "Three times... because of me. And each time, I lost part of myself. So no, I don't pity you. I am just too scared to fail again," his voice quieted down until it was nothing but a whisper, his eyes cast down.  
  
Loki scoffed, mildly annoyed still, but his hands reached for Thor's back to give him a couple of slow pats. "We both need to learn how to let the past behind," he said with caution, his anger wearing off. "We won't be able to forget it, but how can we grow if we don't even try?"  
  
"I thought I had. Clearly not that well," Thor chuckled brokenly, a small sob escaping his lips. He looked up, his eyes searching for Loki's. The nightmare reminded him of his last words to Loki before Thanos broke his neck, another stone to weight in Thor's mind. "You are not the worst brother. I am so sorry, Loki."  
  
"Hush now," soothed the trickster, drawing circles in Thor's back in an attempt to calm him down, as he didn't want him to blame himself even more. Loki knew through how much Thor had gone through the last couple of years, they both did. But Thanos was now dead, and they had to learn how to deal with the aftermath. A smile crept up his face without even realizing it was there. "I'm here."  
  
Thor kissed his neck softly, tenderly nuzzling his nose on it. "No, I mean it. I am sorry it took me so long to realize that..."  
  
Loki snorted, patting Thor's head with a patient smile, "That's enough with apologizing, you oaf," Loki sat down in bed, finally getting separated from him. "As I said, things happen for a reason. Maybe out fates were never in our hands. Maybe all this madness had to happen so we could be together again."  
  
But Loki never believed in happy endings. His gaze traveled to the room's window. From it, he could see part of the small village, wondering if they would ever have a normal life as they used to in their youth. Those golden times looked now like another life, one that was so long ago it seemed almost like a dream. Evenings of training, of drinking, travel around the realms, both of them enjoying the life as spoiled princes. Those were the times of happiness. But Asgard was no more, and neither was their family. That part of their lives was over, and no one would be able to bring it back now. It was in their own hands to forge their own future now. They were the orphan princes of Asgard in the search of a new purpose, but at least they had each other; at least they had found each other.  
  
"Things were easier before, weren't they?" asked the blonde, losing the embrace around Loki and pulling the blanket away. He stood up in a fast set of movements, revealing his bare body in the process.  
  
Loki observed him still from the bed, sitting close to the edge of it. With a cheeky smile on his face, he licked his lips before speaking, "With me? Never. Don't you remember how many times I tricked you?"  
  
Thor laughed softly, leaning to grab Loki's hand. He knelt on the floor in front of him, the sadness he felt before slowly disappearing from his system. "Those were the best times," he spoke softly, kissing Loki's hand and keeping his lips on the skin for a second before pulling back.  
  
"Were they? I think you were rather pissed off by that back then," Loki took his other hand to Thor's hair, tangling his fingers in his short locks. "Those times are over, but that doesn't mean that we don't have any good times ahead."  
  
"The sun will shine on us, uh?" Thor murmured, leaning his forehead in Loki's bare knee. "You mentioned that. I wonder how much you knew."  
  
Loki's hand continued playing with Thor's hair slowly, looking at his brother with a dreamy gaze. "I wonder too," he muttered, but he added no more. He just bent to kiss Thor's head, his arms slowly reaching around him to hug him. He could feel the certainty of how much he needed that man in his chest, almost as an oppressive force. They both stayed in comfortable silence, only moving to place soft kisses on the other until Thor finally moved slightly to look up.  
  
"We have to go and talk to Valkyrie. We need to tell her about that "presence", whatever it is." Thor commented out loud, still in Loki's embrace.  
  
"Will she be up? I would be surprised, remembering her habits in the Statesman." Loki didn't want to admit it out loud, but he wasn't ready to get out of that comfortable space in which they were at the moment. Just for a bit, just a bit longer. He'd longed for this far too long to let it go now.  
  
"You're right, but we should get moving." Thor agreed with an apologetic smile, sliding out of Loki's arms to get up from the floor. "I will be taking a shower first."  
  
Loki's frown deepened the moment he felt the warmth of the blond leave his body, looking at him going to the bathroom. Something inside his brain kicked, and he got up almost with a jump, crossing the space in three long steps and wrapping his arms once more around the blonde's back. "Wait..."  
  
"Loki?" asked Thor, surprised his brothers' reaction, turning in the hug to put both hands in Loki's shoulders, trying to see his face.  
  
"Just..." When Thor turned in the embrace, Loki buried his face in his chest with his eyes closed. "Just a bit longer... I don't want to face reality yet."  
  
"We don't have to go yet," the blonde replied softly, caressing his brother's long locks, placing a small kiss to his head. "And then I am the one that is sensitive, uh?"  
  
"Shut up." Loki gave him a small smack on the chest as a warning, sighing. "When we go out, we'll have to deal with more enemies, problems, and judgment from others. Unless you want to tell everyone that you are fucking your brother." Loki's hand slide from Thor's back until it reached his bottom, squeezing it, "but maybe you like that. You always liked to brag," he teased.  
  
"Well..." Now it was Thor's turn to raise an eyebrow, but a smirk showed in his face, "It would be quite a scandal, don't you think?" His hands circled Loki's hips, caressing them slowly.  
  
"It would be..." Loki pushed Thor suddenly, making his back collide with the wall of the room. The trickster didn't lose any time and knelt in front of him, his hands caressing his thighs as he went down.  
  
Thor's member twitched, clearly interested in his lover's ministrations. He threw his head back, swallowing hard. "Loki..."  
  
"Hush," Loki ordered again. He got closer to the flesh in front of him, letting his breath tease the skin. His hand started to softly touch around the area of his crotch, feeling how Thor's cock started to harden. He licked his lips in anticipation before leaning to give the long shaft a lick. He grinned, satisfied with the groan that came out of Thor's mouth. It wasn't a bad idea to put his silver tongue to use after all.  
   
Thor's thighs tensed, his hips moving forward out of his control. He wanted to feel him around his cock, a numbing desire starting to grow on his lower belly. "You like to tease me, don't you?" he groaned, his eyelids closed halfway.  
  
"Well, it wouldn't be me otherwise," Loki chuckled, his lips so close to the other's member that Thor could feel that laughter in his skin. His cock was already fully erect and in much need of attention, but Loki seemed to finally pity him, as he closed his lips around it and started sucking. A moan escaped the blond's throat, as his hands went to hold Loki's head, encouraging him to move faster. All coherent thoughts had left his mind in that exact moment, too focused on how good Loki's mouth felt on him.  
  
Both of them were far too distracted to realize the sound of the door in the entrance, as well as the approaching voice of a woman. Suddenly, the door of the bedroom slammed open.  
  
"Thor, I swear to Odin that if you have ditched training for playing videogames I am going to... WOW!" Valkyrie shouted, her jaw falling open. "Ok, and I AM the one with issues?!"  
  
The moment he heard the door, Thor separated Loki, making him fell on his butt on the floor with a frown."Val... I... We..."  
  
"I am sorry, I have to go and scoop my eyes out," she whined, turning around, leaving the house without waiting for any reply, although Loki could hear her say "Those damn royals" before leaving.  
  
Thor still stood there, completely naked with his mouth open. He looked at Loki, who was still sitting on the floor looking at the door. "Oh... Loki, I am sorry I pushed you, but she... I..." he stammered, reaching with a hand to try to get him up.  
  
Loki accepted the hand, an amused expression on his face while he got up, "Well, that will save us the trouble of having to explain anything." He approached Thor, that seemed still in shock by the situation, and kissed his cheek, "I'm going to take a bath. I would cover myself if I was you, just in case someone left the door open like last night."  
  
Chuckling, the trickster left the room, and Thor could hear the sound of the bathroom's door closing. He swallowed and realized, his brow immediately furrowing.  
  
"Oh, you didn't... LOKI!"

 


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy moley, it has been veeery long and I am sorry. Life and work have been a bit of a bitch, and my brain was just not having it. But here I am, back again. I have as always a tornado of ideas, and I hope I will be able to squeeze all of them!
> 
> This chapter is not very long, but next one will possibly be double size. 
> 
> Again, thank you again to everyone for reading, and specially thank you to every one that takes a moment to leave kudos and comments, they really make me super happy :)

Thor was not happy of the way his friend learned about his new relationship. Loki watched him sulk while he was getting dressed, after he finally let him enter in the bathroom to take a shower. Not that Loki had enjoyed the screaming of that woman first thing in the morning, but the whole situation had tingled his mischievous vein.

"You have to admit that it was funny," Loki said while he observed Thor finishing putting his clothes on.

The blond dedicated Loki a grumpy look, "No, it was not," he groaned, "It seems I can't really let my guard down with you."

"Look on the positive side, now you don't need to explain," he waived his hand in a dismissive way, getting up from the armchair in which he was sitting.

"How in Hel I am not going to have to explain the fact that my brother was sucking me off?!?" he didn't even know how he even had to explain that. As far as he knew, Loki was the clever one.

"Adopted brother," remarked Loki, still with a smirk in his face.

"Loki, let's not start with the "I am not your brother" thing, please," Thor whined, exasperation showing in his face as he turned in the spot to look at him.

"But I am not," Loki said petulantly, crossing his arms across his chest.

"Of course you are," Thor said automatically. "Why do you keep insisting...?"

"Because I don't want to be your brother!" Loki hissed, his brow turning into a frown, "I don't want us to be siblings. Are you really that dense?"

Thor stood for a moment where he was standing, and then he realized, his mouth forming a silent "oh". He sighed and crossed the space, stopping in front of Loki, grabbing him by the chin, "I get it. It's ok, I am sorry."

Loki smacked Thor's hand, looking at him with annoyance, "Do you realize that you are apologizing for showering you with mischief, right?" Even if his brow was raised, there was a clear pout in lips.

"That's not why I am apologizing," he said patiently, smiling so sweetly that Loki knew that he couldn't possibly remain angry with the oaf for much longer. Thor leaned down and kissed his forehead, "C'mon, let's go. We need her help to figure all this out."

It was still time for Loki to sulk, but he followed Thor out of the house and on the direction of Valkyrie's house. He was wearing simple mortal clothes, this time covered with his magic to make them look in his usual elegant style, a deep green sweater and some black pants. Thor, on the other hand, was dressed with his casual jeans and jumper that Loki personally enjoyed seeing on him. He blamed for being so perfect that even in mortal clothes he looked fine.

Valkyrie's house was the closest to the tavern of the town. They found the door open when they arrived there, but Thor knocked a couple of times before entering. "Val?"

Loki followed his brother, hearing the nickname for the woman silently. Not that he didn't bit his tongue to avoid mentioning it.

"You..." a croaked voice came from the kitchen, to where Thor started walking.

When they were both in the small room they found Valkyrie sitting down at the table in the middle, a beer in her hand and a grumpy face.

"Valk, I am sorry that you..." Thor started, sitting down in a chair in front of the woman. Loki huffed, crossing his arms and leaning against the door frame of the room.

"You better be sorry. I almost poured bleach on my eyes to forget that vision," she grunted, taking a large sip from her beer before sighing loudly. "Look, I don't care what you two do indoors, but please close the god dammed door."

"You are taking this surprisingly ok," Loki commented, a smile on his lips while Thor turned to look at him with a scold in his expression.

"You are not the first member of the royalty that's into incest, Laki," she teased him, a smile crawling on her lips.

"You will be happy to know that Thor and I are actually not related then, wrench" Loki started, but it was soon cut-off by Thor's voice.

"Ok, ok, you two. Enough. Val, we are sorry. Yes, Loki, you too," he turned around to look at him, as if he wanted to not let any doubt about the topic, "But this is no time for such discussions. We are in danger, I am afraid. I don't know of what kind."

"What do you mean by danger?" Valkyrie's expression immediately went serious, ghost of the past clouding her eyes, "Hela is as dead as the goddess of death can be, and Thanos does no longer exist in any realm. Seriously, there is literally just one big threat of that calibre I can think of, and it is standing right here," she gestured towards Loki, who just smiled creepily.

"Oh, if you only knew..."

"Loki..." Thor warned him, his tone showing that he wasn't in the mood for another argument, and for once Loki decided to stop teasing, "Loki has sensed some kind of presence, something that was able to follow him through the timelines. We know that he wasn't in possession of any stone as well."

"Wait, wait... a presence? What is that even supposed to mean?" Valk asked, leaving the bottle of beer on the table and leaning against them, her eyes studying the gods.

"Well, we don't know exactly what kind of being it is, but it is definitely something magical and dark. That I can assure you," Loki stepped in, dragging one of the chairs away from the table to take a sit. "I also suspect that he's cut all ties to Yggdrasil, so he might be immortal in a different way that we are. Maybe indestructible."

"That can't be the case, Loki," Thor opened his eyes in surprise, looking at his lover as if he had lost all reason.

"Believe me, I couldn't believe it myself, but I think it might be the case," he joined his hands, playing with his thumbs.

"I don't understand well how magic works, but as far as I know, everyone's seidr comes from Yggdrasil," Valkyrie raised a finger, looking at Loki with a questioning look.

"Yes, that is normally the case. And powerful sorcerers are able to feel that connection. I didn't spend a lot of time trying with that thing though," Loki sighed and looked briefly at Thor, finally turning again at the woman, "I don't get scared easily. But every cell in my body told me to run the moment I felt that presence. You can think whatever you want or mock me if you wish, but we should not take that think any other than serious."

Valkyrie observed him through his explanation, her facial expression unchanged. She looked at Thor with the corner of her eye, and then finished the bottle with one big gulp, cleaning her mouth with her wrist, "Thor, go to the garage and bring me a big black crate. Also a pack of beers," seeing that he didn't move, she gave him a small punch on the arm, "Do you want me to help you or not? C'mon, chop, chop."

With a surprised face, Thor got up from the table and gave both Loki and Valkyrie a last look before disappearing from the kitchen. Valkyrie got up as well, leaving the bottle on the counter and walking towards Loki. She sat down in the chair next to him, leaning towards the trickster with a serious expression.

"Listen. After seeing what I saw, I know that blond idiot possibly has already forgiven you and I am not even starting on what I think of it. BUT," she raised a finger in front of Loki's face, a clear threat, "I don't trust you. This guy has gone through a lot in the recent years, mostly because of your other self. He managed to improve, but I don't buy the fact that a runaway you with the Tesseract in his hands suddenly realized his mistakes and wants to atone for them. So I don't know what you want, but I hope you know that I have my eye on you."

Loki remained silent during her whole speech, his eyes closed halfway. He knew that she would be suspicious, even he had doubts that Thor would believe him in the first place. He licked his lips and looked at her straight in the eye, "Nothing I will say to you will convince you. But please bear with me," Loki started, sighing before continuing, "All my life I had nothing but resentment towards Thor, for being something I could not achieve in many ways. And that only led to my ultimate destruction. I just seek a new path now. Surely I won't behave as you expect, but believe me that I intend no harm to him. Not anymore, he is too important," he said the last part quietly, his gaze dropping to his hands.

Valkyrie was about to say something, but Thor came back to the kitchen at that precise moment, carrying a three black metal crates in his hands, "This is all I could find. I wasn't sure which one you wanted, so I brought all of them..."

"I actually forgot that I had more than one. Well, never mind," Valkyrie got up and took the middle crate from Thor's hands, signalling to a corner of the room with her head, "You can leave the rest there." She put the crate on top of the table with a big thud, opening it and revealing a rough looking computer with a smile, "The Big guy gave me some equipment, in case we needed something. This baby is able to track and analyse energies in a huge radium. So, if Loki is right and that thing was around here, we should still be able to trace it."

Loki looked at the machine with caution in his eyes, turning to look at Thor and then Valkyrie again, “How long will it take?"

"Well, if someone wouldn't have chicken out and let many weeks pass, it would have been a matter of hours," she scolded with a mocking smile in her face, pressing some keys in the keyboard, her gaze never leaving the screen, "after so long, I actually have no idea how long it will take. I will call Bruce to see if he can give me a hand, but it will take me a bit."

"Thank you, my friend. In that case, Loki and I will go to my hut and try to work things on our end," Thor smiled and put one of his big hands on Valkyrie's shoulder, giving her a squeeze, "Loki has recovered his magic, so maybe he will be able to trace something."

"I am not sure if we should, actually," the trickster said, getting up from the chair, "If that thing can feel my magic, it could lead him directly to us again. I will have to work on camouflage spells first, but I am sure we'll figure it out."

Valkyrie pressed a last key with energy and got up, her hands on her hips, "Yeah, you do that. And please, remember to close the fucking door. I don't want to ever see that again."

Loki smiled slightly, but Thor gave him a scolding look that made him hide it. Nodding, the blond turned to his friend, "Let us know if you find something."

With this, he turned, being followed outside by Loki. The younger god looked at the sky while he walked alongside his brother, deep in his own thoughts. Did he deserve that second chance, after all? Would he be able to avoid fate in such a sneaky way, or had the Norns already written his fate? He wondered, letting a sigh come out of his mouth, cold breath ascending into the plummy clouds.

\----------------

The cave was moist and dark, deep within the entrails of the mountain. The figure slid through the obscure galleries, his feet barely touching the ground. The dark cape enveloped him, only his yellow eyes and pale skin reflecting some light. He entered the main cavity of the space, hearing the harsh groans and howls of the berserkers. The animals lied on the floor, moving impatiently, munching on rat bones with their fetid breath. The cloaked figure slid through one of the grouts until the very last gallery of the cave, deep inside the earth. A faint reddish glow emerged from the centre, where liquid matter extended on the floor, dark threats of sticky matter growing on the sides and the walls. The creature stepped on the liquid, his body rapidly absorbing the dark magic.

"Soon... soon I will be able to reconnect with you. And when that happens, I will turn this blue world into ashes..."


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It has been a while, but I will try to post more regularly from now on. Also, we are on with some action in this one, as well as some smut because our boys deserve some fun. Lots of feels. Thank you very much for the amount of kudos left, I really appreciate any kind of feedback. Please take a moment to make a comment if you enjoyed :)

They walked to Thor's house again, Loki still in his own head. He sat down in the sofa of the living room, observing the space with an absent expression. Thor sat down next to him, huffing, passing his hands over his face in a tired gesture. They had not sleep much that night, and the blond could feel that the stress and the fatigue were starting to take a toll on his body. He turned to look at Loki, extending a hand to reach his knee.  
  
"Are you ok?" he asked gently, giving him a small squeeze, "you seem lost in thought. Like, more than usual."  
  
Loki blinked, the words of Valkyrie still going through his mind. "I am fine," he sighed, "I suppose it will take a long time until everyone trusts me again, right?"  
  
Thor licked his lips before answering, trying to choose his words carefully, "Your... future self managed to regain trust from people, you sacrificed yourself. I am sure that now they are just concerned because you come from a moment in which you were not to be trusted, but they will get over it. I have."  
  
Loki saw how Thor's face suddenly turned into a melancholic expression, and his brow went immediately down, "Thinking about someone else again?"  
  
"What? No..." muttered Thor, his hands reaching until they grabbed Loki's.  
  
"You are an awful liar," Loki grabbed his brother's hands in between his own, his gaze casted down.  
  
"Loki..."  
  
"Would you prefer he was here?" he suddenly asked, biting his lip after that. "I know how weird it is for me to ask this, but I want to know." _I need to know if you will ever look at me like I am not a ghost from the past_. He thought bitterly, tightening Thor's hand slightly.  
  
"Loki, listen to yourself," Thor moved on the sofa to get closer, taking the trickster's face in his hands, his fingers caressing his soft skin slowly, trying with little force to make him raise his gaze, "You are you. Stop thinking about future or past self. You are here, and that is all that matters."  
  
"But you hated me. I know that, Thor. I am the version that you hate, not the one that helped you. Norns, only a month ago I buried a dagger in your ribs, I..." Loki's eyes shone with something that could have been tears, but he didn't let them fall as he grasped the blonde’s forearms. "Thor, I am sorry..."  
  
"Loki!" Thor exclaimed, grabbing his brother by the shoulders, looking him straight into the eye almost in panic, "Please, enough. Please."  
  
Loki remained quiet, his hands still grasping his brother's arms with unusual force. He licked his lips and opened his mouth, but no sound came out of it. Instead, he just sighed and nodded. Thor, on the other hand, was still not convinced. How could his brother be so dense sometimes?  
  
"Listen to me," he asked, caressing Loki's cheek with one of his big thumbs, "I made peace with you just before Thanos took you away from me. But back then you were just my brother, whom I had recovered. It was you, this version of you that confessed to me; it was you who made me understand that maybe I always felt something different. Don't think about other versions of you. You are you, Loki of Asgard. And I love you, regardless of everything," Thor closed the distance and kissed him sweetly, wiping away the tears that started to stain the other's cheeks, "You once told me to never doubt that you love me. I will say the same to you. I have always loved you, Loki. Now more than ever."  
  
Loki swallowed, trembling in the other's arms like a leaf. It was difficult enough to not to get angry at Thor, but also to not let himself drown into those words, into that heat, into that warmth. He closed his eyes and kissed him in a fast move, looping his arms around the other's neck.  
  
"Please, don't let me go," he pleaded against his lips, his whole body moving away from the sofa to almost sit astride Thor. He attacked his mouth desperately, his iron grip around the blonde’s neck never fading.  
  
"Never," Thor whispered against Loki's neck, exploring the pale column of skin, discovering how much he enjoyed biting and marking it.

Loki responded immediately, smashing his lips against the blonde’s, his tongue gently caressing his brother’s in a slow impatient dance. He thrusted his hips against Thor’s, the bulge of his erection pleasantly pressing against his own. Thor moved his hands to his hips, sliding them slowly on the fabric of Loki’s pants before reaching for the hem, pulling and fighting against the garment to uncover the other’s skin. He broke the kiss and took a big breathe, kissing Loki quickly again before pulling down the pants with the help of the trickster. He reached with one of his hands and grabbed one of Loki’s buttocks, squeezing it before testing a finger against his hole. Loki was still loose from their previous coupling, so Thor introduced two of his fingers at the same time, biting his lip at the gasp that escaped the younger’s lips. He moved slowly, enjoying the warmth of Loki’s insides and the sounds of his reactions. Loki leaned against Thor’s shoulder, grunting and pressing himself against those fingers, wanting more of that contact. His cock rubbed against Thor’s abs, desperate for more attention, and the trickster took his hands straight to the blonde’s jeans, unbuttoning and lowering them. Thor raised his hips to help him, his cock springing free, hard and ready. Loki shook off Thor’s hands impatiently, and taking him in one hand he started to slowly masturbate the older god, looking him directly in the eyes while he panted.

Thor bit his lip again, his hands travelling from Loki’s butt to grab his face in a strong grip, locking their gazes with nothing but pants passing between them. Without being able to wait more, Loki positioned himself in angle, and very slowly took Thor inside. He began to tremble, the full length of Thor’s hard cock completely deep inside his body. He moved his hips, tenting, until his instinct urged him to start a faster pace, raising and lowering on Thor. The blonde took hold of Loki’s hips again and helped him keep the pace, his own moans sounding on top of the tricksters.

“Loki… I am not going to last, he breathed,” his eyes half closed and his face consumed by pleasure and lust.

“Me… me neither,” Loki answered, his forehead covered in sweat. He felt Thor reaching for his member, moaning loudly when the full attention of the blonde’s hand provoked an electric storm of pleasure in his lower belly.

Thor groaned, starting to thrust his hips upwards to reach deeper inside Loki. The trickster let his head fall back, his hair covering his shoulders and moving with his body. He closed his eyes and rejoiced in the feeling of being in such an intimate way with the man he had loved for such a long time. He felt some tears gather in his eyes, pure emotion bursting through him while his body got ready for release, craving for it. Thor bit the trickster’s shoulder and moved his hand on Loki’s member faster, seeking his own release in the other’s inside. Loki suddenly cried out something unintelligible and came hard on Thor’s hand, all his body shaking from the spasms of the orgasm. The blond grunted and tightened his jaw, the contractions of Loki’s pleasure sending him on his own release, spilling inside Loki in strong pulses.

The trickster collapsed against Thor, his breathing agitated and his body covered in sweat. Thor breathed Loki’s scent once more before letting a deep breath out, relaxing against the couch with the other still sitting on him. He closed his eyes for a moment, his hand slowly caressing the silky skin of one of his brother's thighs. Loki's eyes were closed, his breath laboured from the effort of their activity. His hair, completely in disarray, fell partly over his face, but he didn't seem to give it much importance. In the post-orgasm bliss, he struggled to keep himself awake, feeling too tired and at the same time too renovated.    
  
"You'll catch a cold if you fall asleep like that on the sofa," chuckled Thor at the lack of response of the younger god, giving him a soft pat on the leg. When Loki replied with a tired groan, Thor could not help an even wider smile on his face, "C'mon, I'll take you to bed. You should rest your magic."  
  
"I am not a child," Loki grunted, trying in vain to get up from Thor’s lap, the now flaccid cock of Thor coming out from his hole. He tried to stand up for a moment, just to fall back immediately due to his wobbly legs. He scoffed, looking at Thor with a silencing gaze. "Not a word."  
  
"I know you're not a child, but I just want you to be comfortable," Thor raised, carefully grabbing Loki to carry him in his arms, moving out of his pants and kicking them towards a corner of the room. Loki, mortified, started a weak struggle against the older male.

"Thor, let me down this instant or so help me..."  
  
"Hush, will you? We are alone, nobody can see you. Would you please let me take care of you?" Thor looked at Loki from the corner of his good eye, a smirk on his mouth. Loki sulked, but finally surrendered and let himself be carried around, leaning against his brother's broad chest.  
  
Thor moved him to the bedroom, leaving Loki carefully on the bed. Once his body touched the surprisingly soft mattress, he stretched like a cat, looking at Thor from the corner of the eye. "Don't even think about it," he warned, still aware of his nudity.  
  
With a small smile, Thor covered the body of the younger god with a warm blanket. He sat next to him in the bed for a moment, one of his hands reaching to caress Loki's cheek.  
  
"Try to rest. I will leave some food ready for you, I might need to go and see Valk again to train and see if she found something with those radars," Thor leaned down and kissed Loki's lips briefly, not wanting to bother his now half asleep brother. "I will be back later, please don't burn down the house."  
  
"I can't promise I will behave," Loki mumbled, curling into the warmth and the unequivocal smell of Thor that overwhelmed the bed. He sighed, contented and spent, feeling his body craving for some more rest. After uttering those last words, the trickster fell into a daze of sleepiness, cuddled in the comfortable bed, feeling somehow secured for the first time in many months. His body needed that peace; his magic, recovering slowly, blanketed him as a protective shield. He didn't move for a couple of hours, only raising when his stomach started to growl loudly, demanding nourishing after days of neglecting his most basic needs. He groaned, annoyed, but got up in bed slowly, yawing. Scratching his hair, he looked around the house, peeking through the different rooms carefully. The cabin seemed surprisingly quiet, not even a single sound coming from the living room or any other part of the place. Loki cleared his throat and tried out his voice, "Thor?"  
  
He waited in silence for a moment, but when no answer came back, he assumed that the blond had gone to see the Valkyrie, as he said he would. He signed, rubbing his elbow for a moment, his eyes wandering in the empty space, slightly annoyed at his own sensitivity. Couldn't he just stay alone anymore? He clicked his tongue, as he could feel his emotions far less under control than what he used to before starting that new relationship with his brother, and that alone annoyed him. Loki decided not too think too much about it, at least yet, and returned to the bedroom to grab some clothes from his brother's wardrobe before cleaning himself with a quick magic spell. He had never been so glad to have his magic back, and he really didn't want to think how humans or non-seidr Asgardians lived their barbaric day-life without it. The trickster walked into the living room, fully dressed again, and observed a dish with some kind of sandwiches and a brief note with Thor's handwriting next to it. Grabbing one of the pieces of food in one hand and the note in the other, he smiled.  
  
The note was brief and concise, just as Thor was, and Loki just read it in a blink of an eye while devouring most of the contents of the plate, one sandwich after another. After so many days of running away and neglecting his health, it seemed that his body was asking him for some recovery, at least in the form of rest and food. For once, he found acceptable to oblige to his needs, if only to avoid hearing his brother's moaning about it. Loki left the note on the table next to the empty plate, walking around the empty living room, so different from the first time he was there. Now the boxes had been unpacked, and Thor's things were once more around, and even Loki had to admit that his brother, despite rustic and almost brutish, had a cosy sense of style. There was not much decoration, but the furniture was robust, practical and comfortable, just like the one they used to have in their rooms on Asgard. Not as golden, he thought to himself, but he could not care less about that. Even though Loki had always the reputation of having a fine taste, he secretly enjoyed the small home that the blond has created. It was humble, it was warm, and above everything, it was Thor's. Not that he would ever admit it.  
  
He walked to the corner next to the window, as his eyes intermediately focused on the wooden library. He checked out the different titles that the blond had collected, most of them about Midgard traditions and mythology, although Loki saw that he also had some Asgardian tomes, possibly miraculously saved from the city before it was destroyed. It was not as full as Loki would have liked it, but it was impressive and surprising in its own that Thor owned books in general. Not that he thought his brother was an actual moron, but he never thought he was that interested in reading, or at least, not as much as Loki was. Of course, he would never admit that thought out loud, it was too convenient and too much fun as an insult.  
  
"He has surely changed these years...," Loki muttered to himself, grabbing an old volume and flipping its pages absent-mindedly. Sitting down on the sofa, he started reading through the pages in order to entertain himself while his brother came back from wherever he had gone. The night was starting to fall, darkness creeping out through the window. He snapped his fingers to light the fireplace, the brightness and the soft murmur from the fire giving him enough comfort to read.  
  
_Asgard child..._  
  
The hair at Loki's neck raised at the eerie voice, his hands slowly putting down the book next to him in slow movements. A chill went through his spine, freezing him in place. Was he imagining things? No, his magic and his instincts were alert, his body feeling the danger before his mind could even work out what the actual threat was. He turned slowly to look through the window, trying to make out at the shadows outside. His armour was summoned, covering his body with a golden light before the leather-green garment appeared on him. With a dagger in his hand, he left to the front door, opening slowly. He stepped outside, walking away from the house with carefully steps. There was a cliff not far away from there, and Loki walked towards, his eyes constantly checking out the surroundings. He muttered a couple of words and a light came out from his hand, holding it high in order to light the path. He couldn't hear the voice any more, but he knew he was not out of danger.  
  
"Show yourself!" he screamed to the wind, looking around, tightening the hand around his dagger, ready to use it. "Show yourself, you coward!  
  
"Such big words in the mouth of a weakling like you..." laughed the voice, approaching the trickster from a side.    
  
Loki stood where he was, frozen and looking around without being able to identify his enemy. Cold sweat started running down one of his temples. He had been in enough battles and fought enough enemies to know when he was the predator and when the pray, and things were not looking good for him at that moment. Should he tried to jump and teleport? He would at least win time, but it could also mean another attack on him or his brother... or the whole Asgardia. No, he could not risk it. He needed to finish, whatever it was, right there.  
  
"I am not the one hiding in the shadows like a rat," said Loki to the empty darkness, still looking around at any sign of movement.  
  
He regretted those words fairly soon. In front of him, a blurry dark mass started forming, revealing an elongated cloaked figure that advanced surrounded by a menacing aura. His yellow eyes shone in the darkness, cold and snaky, looking at Loki with a petulant smile on his thin lips.  
  
"So, son of Asgard, are you still so arrogant?" laughed coldly the figure, standing tall in front of the trickster. "Or have you finally realized the situation you are in?"  
  
"I know who you are..." Loki uttered in disbelief. That was the creature that Thor had encountered in Midgard centuries ago, the same creature that he sworn had killed the Midgarian gods. Loki had not accompanied him in that occasion, as he was in Vanaheim too occupied in his magical studies, but he remembered the tales of his brother when he came back from the encounter. "You are Gorr, the so called God Butcher."  
  
"Indeed, I am. And I will do what I must." Gorr advanced towards Loki, dark dense magic surrounding him as he walked.  
  
"Clearly, my brother didn't kill you... it happens with cockroaches, they are difficult to destroy." Loki spat, standing with his daggers in front of him, prepared to attack. He looked around in the darkness, trying to see any sigh of Thor. Where was that big headed idiot when he needed him?  
  
It all happened in a flash. Gorr moved before Loki could even raise his dagger, immobilizing him with his dark tentacles mid air. He felt the restrains surrounding his limbs, squeezing them, crushing them. The creature approached his smiling face to the trickster until it was inches apart, satisfied at his easy victory.  
  
"Well, now shall we? I know you have something that will help me to kill your brother and every single one of your kin..." Gorr hissed, taking Loki's dagger away from his hand, tightening his grip even more.  
  
Loki panted, but he didn't allow himself scream. He would not give the monster that satisfaction. "So that's what you want. Well, I have bad news for you, I don't have it anymore," he said with a defiant smirk. The Tesseract was secured in his inter-dimensional pocket, there was no chance that Gorr would be able to get it, not without him opening it with his magic.  
  
"This is going to hurt," Gorr said with a silky voice. In a shift movement, he stab Loki in the chest with his own dagger, dragging it upwards and towards his shoulder, tearing the flesh and making the trickster gasp in pain. He closed his eyes, his magic trying to restlessly heal at the same time that the harm was done, but he could feel the river of blood starting to soak his clothes, slowly tainting them red. "You know... I would prefer if you don't make me lose time. There are too many gods to kill, and my patience is running short..." he smiled again, his face now even closer to Loki's.  
  
Some of the tentacles moved towards the wound, penetrating it and starting to move inside the god's wound. Loki screamed, feeling how the magic was not going to damage his flesh, it was slowly blending and invading his magic, aiming at his cores. He shook his body as much as he could, trapped as he was in those tentacles.  
  
"So... are you going to give me what I want...? Or should I try a bit deeper? I could even reach your mind like this, maybe even control you." Gorr sent another waive of magic to the trickster's body, who frowned and tightened his lips in a grin. "Do you still have strength for humour?"  
  
"Always, you freak," muttered Loki, before spitting on the creatures face. He knew that if Thor didn't appear, that monster would possibly kill him. I suppose it was _my destiny all along, to die. But at least now I have no regrets before leaving_ , he thought, looking at Gorr's angry face. He looked at him sneeringly, but that wasn't what he wanted to have as a last thought. No, in his mind, slowly fading away, he thought of Thor, on the little time that they had together, and he felt his chest warming at the mere thought. Yes, at least this time he had done things right. He could still feel his blood slowly soaking his clothes, as well as the growing numbness from the pain and the magic intrusion. In the last glimpses of his conciousness, he saw movement on the background, and suddenly the magic that was trapping him released his body, falling heavily against the hard ground. For a moment, Loki tried to focus on the figure, golden and big, before he faded with a smile on his lips.

 

 


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! Here is the next chapter. Hopefully it won't take me as long for the next one, I have a very clear story line at the moment, so I will try to keep updating regularly. Again, thank you for reading and enjoy! Take a moment to post a comment if you can :D

Thor could feel his pulse throbbing in his ears as he ran through the village. On the contrary of Loki, he had never been good at sensing magic, so when he felt the magic shock wave coming from the cliffs he got worried.

"Please be ok..." he thought, rushing by the side of his cottage. He extended his right hand, calling Mjölnir quickly while his eyes started to see the two figures near the rocks.

Standing by the abyss, a cloaked figure was standing tall in the darkness, and in his pale hand he was holding Loki by the neck. The trickster looked unconscious and bled heavily, a big wound covering his right arm and shoulder.

Thor threw Mjölnir towards the creature, aiming directly at his head. Gorr managed to block it by holding his black magic in front of him, his arm creaking from the force of the weapon. He dropped Loki to the floor, the raven haired had long passed out from the pain in his wounds. Red wrath blinded Thor’ sight at the vision of Loki bleeding on the floor, looking like a broken toy. Electricity sparks started to emanate from his hands, his muscles tensing in preparation for battle.

"You die for that," he grunted, looking directly in the eye of the creature. "I thought I killed you already, you fiend."

Gorr had retreated several steps, his arm dripping thick black blood.

"And so we meet again, God of Thunder. Seems that you always manage to come to save the day, uh?" he laughed cruelly, straightening himself.

Blood started dripping from his shoulder, the black mass surrounded him soon engulfed the wound and regenerated tissue over it, healing it in the shape of a black scar.

"But it won't always be like that. I was so close to connect with this one, what a sham..."

Thor didn't let him finish the sentence, sending Mjölnir towards his opponent once more, a scream of rage leaving his lips. The hammer impacted Gorr right in the chest, throwing him several meters behind. He fell hard on his back, staying on the floor while the black mass of magic around him started to bubble and move around. Without delay, the blond set himself next to the lying figure, raising his hammer.

"Vanish," he mumbled, lowering on Gorr's head, hearing the cracking noise of de skull. Gorr made a squeaking sound before going silent, and Thor spat on the ground next to him, not moving for a moment, making sure that he was positively dead. Once he saw the last movement of the body of the creature, he rushed next to Loki, patting him on the face, searching for vitals.

"Loki, ¡LOKI!" he exclaimed, grabbing the trickster by the shoulders, trying to incorporate him.

"Thor...?" Loki's eyes fluttered, wincing when he tried to move in his brother's arms. "Where's he?! I have to..."

"Calm down, he's dead," shushed Thor, noticing how Loki's wound kept bleeding non-stop. "I have to take you to a healer, hold on. I will take care of you. You will be ok." Thor’s voice came thicker than normal, angst and worry tight in his belly when he lifted the weak form of the trickster.

 

Loki let himself be lifted, too weak to resist or object. Even though his mind was foggy, he could feel the sharp pain of the wound in his shoulder, as well as the burning in his magical centres. He only hoped the damage was not permanent, but he had not rid out that possibility yet.

"I am... ok..." Loki managed to mumble.

"Shut up, Loki, you are not," Thor hurried through the village path, trying to remember where did he stored the healing stones that he had salvaged before the destruction of Asgard.

Loki's weight was light and shaky, the worry increasingly growing in his mind at the state of his lover. He kicked the door of the house and carefully dropped Loki on the sofa, starting to search through all the drawers in the house in a compulsive way, his face white and his lips tight against each other. Eir was not in the village now, and Loki was too weak to heal himself with his magic, so those healing stones were possibly his only chance to not bleed to death.

Loki had passed out again, a small river of blood going through his should until reaching the floor, creating a small puddle of blood. Thor ripped one of the drawers from the table, a piece of wood breaking from the force of the pull. Two small black rocks fell to the floor, and the blond let out a sound of relief. He rushed to Loki's side after picking the rocks from the floor, smashing them quickly and letting the powder fall on Loki's shoulder. The wound started to fizz, a tiny moan escaping Loki's pale lips.

"Thor...?" he muttered. His eyes slowly opened, and he tried to look at the wound. It took a couple of tense minutes, but the bleeding finally ceased. Loki was able to slowly rise until being seated, wincing almost immediately. "Ugh... dammit, how long was I out?"

"Just a couple of minutes. Don't move yet, there is so much the rocks can heal, a wound like that will need a proper healer."

Thor pushed Loki gently against the sofa, trying to make the trickster lie down. "You will need to either heal it with your magic or wait until Eir comes back."

"I should be able to deal with it soon... don't worry," he tried to sound as natural as possible, but he could feel how deep the creature had managed to cut him.

If not for Thor's intervention, he would possibly be dead by now, and the mere thought of that made him grow cold with panic. Not that he would show it, but he was certain for the first time in a very long time, of what it felt to be so close to actual death.

Thor kept looking at his hands, nervous. His brother was still not out of danger, and he felt useless with his lack of magical skills. It was dammed luck that he’d kept those rocks, and if not for them, what would had happened? He cursed under his breath, getting up a bit too quickly.

"Let me take you to the bedroom, you need to rest."

Thor could not look at him in the eye, into those eyes that he loved so much and that he had been so close to not see again.

Loki stayed quiet, trying to concentrate the magic in his body to evaluate the damage, but nothing came out of the attempt. That monster had cut in deep in his body with magic that had somehow altered his own cores. He hoped that, with time, they would heal by themselves, but he didn't want to think in the alternative if that wasn't the case. When Thor lifted him in his arms, he remained docile, leaning against his chest in a sigh of tiredness, not even able to scoff at him.

Thor lay him in bed carefully, making sure that he was comfortable and not in pain, covering his weak body with a blanket. He sat next to the raven haired once he was settled, caressing his cheek slowly, his brow furrowed in worry.

"You should sleep, Loki. The wound is deep, maybe your magic will come back if you rest a bit. Eir should be here tomorrow morning, she might be able to fix it as well..."

Thor's voice was thick with emotion, as the idea of losing Loki again was haunting him like a nightmare. He grabbed the trickster's hand, taking it to his lips before leaning his forehead on it.

"Please, just hold on a bit, ok?"

"I am not..." Loki winced again when he tried to move, huffing before finding a comfortable position in bed. "I am not dying, you oaf."

"You better," Thor muttered, his gaze hiding in Loki's hand.

The trickster sighed, looking at his now bandaged wound before raising his upper body enough to caress one of Thor's short locks of blond hair.

"Don't be silly and take that pout of your face, I am here."

"I am sorry, Loki. I left you alone, and then this happened," Thor kissed repeatedly Loki's hand, his mind a spiral of guilt and worry.

"Did you manage to kill him?" Loki asked, his fingers running through Thor's hair in smooth circles, trying to calm him down.

"I don't think so, I know I hit him with Mjölnir, but there was no body on the bottom of the cliff. He possibly escaped, but he must be sore."

Thor's expression darkened, getting up until he sat in bed next to Loki. He checked on the wound once more, hope starting to appear in his eyes when he saw that the healing stones had, in fact, worked better than expected.

"It seems that you will be fine, I am so glad..."

Loki's eyebrow raised in a clearly "I told you so" face, but he refrained to scold him. How could he, when Thor's kicked puppy face was making him feel so terribly weak. He huffed, sitting down properly with the blanket still covering his legs.

"Don't worry too much, we will get him next time. It was not... ok for me to underestimate that bastard. Had not been for you... well, I think I would have ended my adventure in this timeline."

Thor closed his eyes again, sighing. He felt oh so tired, he could not stand the thought of Loki dying again, and it had been so close that he felt restless. "Don't even mention it, please."

"I..." Loki looked at his hands, biting his lip before starting to talk again, "I am a bit afraid, sometimes," he admitted, his voice going slightly tight, "What if... you can't alter the future. What if it was my destiny all along and I have just being avoiding it?"

"Don't even say that," Thor interrupted him, grabbing his chin to make him look into his eyes. "If that was the case, how did we exactly stop Thanos? It is dangerous to play with temporal lines, but our destiny is not decided, Loki. So please, don't..."

"It's difficult not to, though. Even Odin said it once: Your birth right was to die, as a child, cast out on a frozen rock. What if he was right?" Loki's eyes looked at his brother, tired and in pain, but for the first time in his life trying to share his deepest fears with the person that mattered most.

"Nonsense," Thor replied, stubborn. He huffed and crossed his arms, shaking his head in denial. "I told you Loki, surrender is not in my nature. And if you think I am going to let you die, you are very wrong about it. You are stuck with me, so please stop saying that."

Loki held Thor's gaze until it became impossible not to show a small smile. "As you say. For someone that looked so depressed a moment ago, you seem very optimistic now."

"I just felt that I failed you, but I won't commit the same mistake twice," the blond said, leaning in order to capture Loki's lips in a sudden and tender kiss.

Loki just snorted after the kiss was done, laying down against the pillows. "You're impossible," he moaned, but the smirk didn't leave his lips. "If you are done swearing solemn oaths, could you come to bed? I am tired after all."

Thor's laugh rumbled in the room, quiet and grave, but he obliged. The blond carefully got in bed next to Loki, taking him carefully between his arms. "I do love you, Loki. I really mean it."

"Hush, I know you do," Loki whispered, positioning himself on his good side to hug his lover. He kissed his chest quickly, mumbling, "I love you too."

And that, for Thor, were just the words that made him calm down and rest for the rest of the night, hoping the next day it would be a better one.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Please leave a comment if you have the time, I would generally love some feedback :)


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